To Tame A Werewolf
by Laiyokii
Summary: Zabuza Momochi leads an ordinary life, full of blood, ninjaying and corruption. But werewolves and orphans with incredible abilities just won't leave him alone, and now theres also this ominous, Energy devouring forest to escape... Its a busy life indeed.
1. Werewolves

**_Author's Note: _IF YOU WANT instant Zabuza fanservice, please proceed directly to Chapter 5. If you decide that you like the story, you can go back and read the previous chapters... Or, if you feel that you can handle four chapters of... well, everything but Zabuza, you can start from the very beginning. **

Okay, this is my first ever fanfic! At least, the first one that I didn't drop writing after the very first chapter xP I'm aware that it's not the most perfect fic ever written, but I'm new here so please forgive my acting like a total noob (because I am one O.o'). 'xD Also, I decided to release the first six chapters all at once. That's because I spent the first four chapters on my original character development-- BUTDON'TWORRY! It's not going to be about how long her hair is or what she looks like or whatever. It's just that without the explanation it wouldn't be clear who she is or why she does certain things, and I know you'd go like, "What the hell's that author-person on?"

No, really. Trust me.

**_Disclaimer:_** (I didn't see it in the guidelines, but people do it so I guess I must, too O.O) I don't own "Naruto" or any of the characters or ideas from this show. Please don't sue me, because you won't get anything much anyway, except maybe for some gum, a piece of string, a broken pencil and ten dollars sixty-five cents (the money that I've been saving up to one day buy Zabuza and Haku from Masashi Kishimoto xD) I'm not going to post this on any other chapters of this fic, so for any references this is the place to go.

**_Summary: _**Somewhere in the universe, Loki the werewolf runs away from the life of a lab-rat in a research-and-training facility in search of a life she doesn't really know anything about at all.

Somewhere _else _in the universe, Zabuza Momochi lives an ordinary life of an ordinary ninja, which involves assassinating, trying to avoid legal persecution, and picking up dying orphans with incredible abilities. He has also got a Great Ambition (caps and all). He wants to be a Mizukage.

But Zabuza's world is turned downside up when a multi-dimensional, Energy-devouring forest becomes involved. And suddenly, life isn't about overthrowing the Mizukage anymore. It is about getting out alive, preferrably with all of the limbs still in place.

On his side, Zabuza has only got Haku, a clever young lad with a heart of gold and a mania for water Jutsu; Loki, the clueless runaway werewolf; also a rabbit, a Cleaver, lots of loyalty and a determination to stay alive _no matter what_.

And then, there is the Amazing Travelling Battle Zoo (don't ask).

_End of Summary_

**_Pairings:_** Zabuza x OC (but MUCH later on in the fic. Yup, there will be some fluffy scenes, but I'll try not to make them _too_ mushy x3).

All righty, I think I've covered the main points. Now, on with the fanfic. X3

_**To Tame a Werewolf**_

_**1. Werewolves**_

_By: Laiyo_

_Fierce gales roamed the mystic forests of Kallmanah. Century-old pines shook and groaned as the hurricane slammed into them with vicious force. Ragged storm clouds were tattered and carried off to the north by the winds, to reveal the pallid form of the full moon. And then thousands of birds flocked the sky suddenly as a chorus of unearthly, savage howls filled the wicked tempest with more darkness and horror. The werewolves were out on a hunt._

There were many such creatures inhabiting those woods. Werewolves of all types: large and small, wolf-like and human-shaped, the Bitten and the Born; they all prowled the lands, competing for territories and prey. They weren't _really_ fiends from hell, or so-called "limbs of the devil". They were just a species different from humankind; grim, wild and mysterious. They were hunters. They were also something you could become if you were foolish enough to wander all by yourself into the forests after dark.

Werewolves lived in clans, some of which were millennia old. Clans didn't usually mix unless fights broke out between them, and one clan conquered or devastated another. Many werewolves died during such battles, and it was truly a horrible sight to witness. But it was all natural, a part of the _cycle_. And it all changed one day, when the humans arrived.

Humans… Now _they_ were horrid, and savage, and bloodthirsty. They always craved for power and violence, and it seemed that their own vast populations weren't enough to quench their unstoppable thirst for armies and wars. So one day, they came after the werewolves.

The werewolves were physically stronger than the humans, and their life span was much longer, too – something having to do with their constant transformations and tissue regeneration, and things, and other complicated biology stuff you wouldn't possibly understand. Their wounds healed quickly, and they were swift in combat. In other words, werewolves made perfect fighting machines; or lab rats, as for the most part they were stuck in laboratories, where hundreds of humans performed hideous experiments on them. Of course, they wouldn't do that to their fellow humans, but it was okay if it were werewolves, because werewolves were 'just stupid beasts that devoured cattle and were harmful anyway'. And the humans seemed to politely ignore the fact that _some_ werewolves, like the Bitten, had been human, too; well, at some point in their lifetimes, anyhow.

In short, humans invaded the forests and kidnapped werewolf children to experiment with their minds and bodies and turn them into machines of war. They had computers and tracking devices, and the most terrible creations ever known to werewolf-kind: the weapons of silver, for silver was the only metal that werewolves dreaded more than death, because it poisoned their blood and burned their flesh, and the wounds inflicted by it wouldn't heal as easily as the normal ones did. Silver was the only thing you could kill a werewolf with, or hurt one beyond comparison; which humans did, without great remorse.

___

* * *

Akela's clan was racing through the darkness, the humans in hot pursuit. The roar of helicopters was thundering above the quivering treetops. Searchlights pierced the thick canopy of leaves in merciless beams of white glare. Hiding was no good. You couldn't hide from the humans for long. You couldn't fight them either, not when they were all organized like that. _

_Akela heard gunshots behind them. She knew humans couldn't see them clearly enough to shoot directly, but a few bullets had reached their targets, and two werewolves were left behind, twisting and groaning as the silver penetrated further into their flesh and bloodstream, causing them unthinkable torture._

_The forest further ahead was thinning, and Akela cursed. Many would be slaughtered, but taking the clearing was the only option available. The albino female raced on, the others following._

_Soon they were out of the safety of dense forests. The clearing wasn't wide, however, and more trees were up ahead, beckoning and promising shelter. Three more wolf-people fell under the endless hail of bullets, but Akela began to gain hope._

_That is, until someone behind her shrieked with despair, and she heard a small body tumble to the ground. Akela turned, cold sweat trickling down her forehead. 'NO!' she thought, as she saw a small wolf-child, eyes wide with terror, scramble up from the ground and fall back again as a large silver net fell over it._

_"NO! Loki! My daughter!"_

_The werewolf that had been carrying the girl was wounded, but still alive. He was massive, almost twice the size of a full-grown human. Both he and Akela rounded back to save the child._

_A helicopter was coming down, and a man in armour outstretched a hand to grab the little wolf-girl, but the giant werewolf beat him to her. Blood blossomed on his hands as he grabbed the net of silver to haul it off the terrified-looking girl, but his efforts were met by a hail of silver bullets from above. One moment, and he fell to the ground, spattering more blood as the poison spread. The man on the helicopter grabbed the girl and pulled her upwards. She screamed and kicked, but it was useless. The human turned around and began climbing back aboard. But at that precise moment the girl gave a relieved squeal, and the man felt something grab his foot. Something clawed and merciless. When he glanced down, he found Akela clinging to the bottom of the rope ladder and grinning up at him in a way that demonstrated all of her shining fangs. She grabbed the girl and pulled her towards herself. The man kicked. Akela let go of the girl and grabbed his foot instead. She wrenched it hard, and he felt himself letting go… Akela almost won._

_But there was a slash and a glint of silver, and Akela fell away, her arm cut open. Her daughter shrieked for her, and the man grinned, satisfied, as he flashed a dagger into the light. A silver-tipped dagger. Akela cursed and sprang up. She tried to catch up again, but there was more gunfire and she fell to the ground beside the giant wolf-man, breathless. _

_"Akela!"_

_The other werewolves were coming to the girl's rescue, but there were so few of them. This battle was decided – and in a couple more minutes, it was all over. The helicopter with its guns and searchlights pulled back up into the ringing inky-black heights, taking the little screaming and crying wolf-girl away with it. And the forest was still once more; and the pallid moon shed its weak light onto the bodies lying on the ground, silent and motionless._

Somewhere far off in the Kallmanah woods, the fierce gales raged on as yet another portal ripped open into a new dimension.

And somewhere else, a dimension away, a boy of about ten or eleven had single-handedly destroyed hundreds of his fellow-students in an exam of cruelty and power, and sat among their fallen bodies, sulking at the weapon in his hand and giving little thought to the future the fate had in store for him.

**End Chapter!** So, what do you think? And yaaay I mentioned Zabuza-san in the end! xD Yeah, I know the whole 'multidimensional forest' thingy seems a bit… weird… but I'll explain it some more later on in the story. Aiii, I'm so nervous! xD Please, review if you feel like it. x3 And sorry if you see any funky stuff happening on these pages, like words beingstucktogether like this, or random gaps in text, or something of the sort. Formating is being a real bioyitch to me for some reason, and I just got tired of going back (over and over and _over_ again) and trying to fix it. Sorry again! T.T --bitch-slaps formating--


	2. Centre

**_Author's Note:_** Second chappie! xD I really hope you like this, but even if you don't, it was worth a try.

I don't know what else to add. Just read on. Please? Please?

_**2. Centre**_

Loki didn't remember the forest. She didn't remember her mother, _or_ the other werewolves. In fact, she was sure she was born at the Centre.

She had been two years old when she had been brought to the human laboratory. The Centre, as it was called, was one of the many labs working together in a network, united by a common goal – producing more werewolf slave-warriors. The first thing done to the wolf-children in order to free their minds from distress and pain of loss was erasing their memories. That also made sure that they had no place they'd want to go back to in the future. It was cruel, but it kept them under control. This was done to Loki as well; and when she was ready, her training began.

Thus the wolf-girl grew up in the laboratory. The love of her parents, the shelter of trees and the joy of a child learning to live were replaced by the cold indifference of her trainers and supervisors, the harsh gleam of metal walls and wires of her confinements, and the seriousness of a warrior learning to kill. It was not an easy life. But Loki was a werewolf, and she did what all werewolves did – adapted to it.

Loki was a… an _unusual_ werewolf. The strangeness of her situation consisted of the fact that she was a female, and a Born. It was highly unnatural in the werewolves' world, because the werewolf gene could only be inherited by males, and the only way for females to become werewolves was through the Bite, not through birth. But Loki was born a werewolf and that made her an oddity. She was quite unique, actually; the only Born wolf-girl ever heard of, as far as humans had been informed. She didn't know that, but there was someone who did, and he was deeply interested in her because of the fact. He thought that such an unusual specimen would undoubtedly have the markings of a great warrior, or be better than the others in _some _ways at least. He had nothing to base that on, but he observed the girl from the very first day she arrived and supervised her training. Sometimes he'd talk to her, just to test her intelligence at first, but soon she became something more of a pet to him.

This man was the head of this particular laboratory branch. Loki was his favourite; but not in a way a human child would be a favourite. He didn't _love_ her as such. She was his favourite in the way a weapon could be – like a machine, a lifeless object. It never occurred to the man to cut her some slack, and he never considered setting her free as an option. Quite the opposite, he made sure she was trained in much harsher conditions than the others: he was hoping that this would reveal her extraordinary abilities, if she had any.

Loki started out with relatively easy things, of course, for she was but a child; though as the training progressed, her tasks became progressively more and more difficult. She was forced to do things like climb steep, flat walls or cross chasms using nothing but her hands and a length of rope stretched across the gap – and those were some of the easiest things asked from her. Loki was being worked every day until her last ounce of strength was drained out of her. She got afraid and tired, but she had to go through with it. There were punishments, too. If she failed in her exercises or didn't move fast enough, she'd be left for days without food, or get locked in a room full of blinding white light where she'd lay for hours, exhausted and scared and unable to rest, until the supervisors would come and take her away.

The girl's developing sense of smell didn't help matters at all. It had grown so strong that her nose alone wasn't enough to register all the scents she felt. All the other organs had to get involved in the process as well – and scents became images, sounds, tastes. Some scents Loki felt as pain, and it was the most terrible kind of pain you could possibly imagine: it tore at her lungs, her insides, her head, and she felt like curling up and dying somewhere in a corner. When her sense of smell began interfering with the training, however, the Head, or the Chief, as he told her to call him, designed some nose-filters especially for her. It helped a lot, and though Loki's nose was still sharper than the humans', the scents didn't hurt her that much anymore.

But there were other tortures Loki had to face day after day. Tests and check-ups were always horrible. She hated the feel of metal wires attached to her head; those blinding, colourful rays of light that struck her body as she was being "scanned" and her stats recorded; but the most terrible was that scent, the painful, excruciating scent of cold, indifferent steel that not even her new nose-filters could block out.

And there was also the matter of her transformations. 'The full-moon cycle', as the Chief called it. Usually, Borns didn't begin _changing_ until they were approaching puberty, but Loki's wolf gene was unlocked artificially when she turned six. To the humans it was just an experiment, yet another test of the girl's strength. Loki was too small to be feared by them in their protective armour and shields of silver. Even in her wolf-form, she didn't pose much of a threat back then; they didn't have to worry about locking her up in a special room or tranquilizing her quite yet. Small as she was, she could easily be chained up, and then tested and observed – given that nobody came too close to her with their delicious fingers during those times.

In other words, being the humans' lab rat, or, should it be said, lab _wolf_ wasn't a stroll in the park. But although Loki realized that she was being treated like some sort of an animal or an object, she didn't much mind because she didn't know any different. That was the way it had always been – there were humans, her masters; and there was her, their weapon. She'd never seen a forest or been outside or ever cared about what it was like… or at least that was what she thought. Because for her, there had never existed an _outside._

* * *

She was about seven when The Operation was performed. Loki didn't remember much of it because she was given a powerful tranquilizer and slept through the whole thing. But it must've been very difficult and serious, because she awoke to a great deal of pain. She was floating in a giant capsule-tube full of some greenish, gooey liquid, and felt as though her whole body was one big, long, throbbing scar. There were steel wires attached to her head and limbs, two of them leading away from her nostrils and outside of the tube. No wonder she couldn't feel any scents! She twisted around a bit, and found that it was difficult to move. Her arms were also hard to lift, and not just because of the gooey liquid stuff slowing them down. She looked down at them, struggling to turn her head, and almost gasped. There were deep, raw-looking scars on both her forearms; but that wasn't what surprised and scared her. Protruding from both her hands, from the newly-made iron-rimmed holes between her knuckles were long metal claws, three on each hand. They gleamed dimly, reflecting the flickering lights that shone outside the tube, so cold and alien and strange to her. She had such claws on her feet, too. 

Loki gasped this time, and instinctively clenched her hands into fists. The claws vanished with a sharp _'slinnnng'_ sound inside the holes between her knuckles, and under her skin. Her first impulse was to pluck them out; to bite and tear herself up until she ripped out those hateful things, because they didn't belong there, in her body. She wanted them out! But as the werewolf-girl stared at her hands and feet in horror, she realized that the metal was _inside _her, _a part _of her now; and there was nothing she could do about it. She had been mutilated, forever.

And so, Loki became a cyborg. With time, she learned to live with that; but she had to accept herself first, and it wasn't easy.

Or rather, it was easier than it had seemed at first. Once Loki's operation scars had completely healed (the green gooey liquid, as she found out later, was a special remedial solution that sped up the healing process), her training was taken onto a whole new level. Before, she was doing 'survival' exercises and things of the sort which trained her speed, strength and endurance in all categories possible. But now that she had a personal set of weapons at her disposition, she could proceed to the next step: the actual fighting. At first, she watched machines battle each other, which at the time was a fascinating sight for her to see; later, however, she had to fight them herself. It wasn't a very difficult skill to master – she was already strong and lithe enough to outfight some of the toughest robots; all she needed was experience. She needed experience in handling her new claws, too: those bits of metal had been very awkward to manage and hard to get used to in the beginning; but the more she used them and fought, the better she became. As time passed by, she developed her own sets of moves and strategies which she'd polished to perfection. Having no other goals or dreams in her life, she practiced long and hard every day – and soon she became a true expert in her job.

But there was another thing that came to her gradually along with her new skills: the hatred for robots and all other machines she had to face. Perhaps it was all a part of the Centre's purpose – to train their warriors to hate their enemy: but to Loki it became personal. It had a lot to do with their scent – it unnerved her to see something that looked like a living thing, but didn't _feel_ living. Steel and concrete seemed to be everywhere – it was disturbing the wolf-girl, and getting on her nerves. Besides, it was so unfair! She had trained all her life and had always thought she was invincible; and here were some chunks of metal stuck together, with no brains or strategies of their own that were proving her wrong! (Yes, she often lost matches to some of the stronger robots.) That wasn't right. Loki could feel the Chief's disappointment, and she had to keep doing everything in her power to prove that she was unbeatable, and much better than some stupid, mindless, speechless metal _things_.

In reality, the Chief wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, he thought Loki was one of the most dedicated warriors he had ever seen during his entire career, but he wasn't going to reassure her. He knew _all_ about psychology, and had calculated it all. As long as Loki was motivated, her strength would continue to grow. She was a very promising talent – and the Chief couldn't just let it all go down the drain by… _encouraging_ the girl. For there were so many more glorious battles to be won, so many battles in store for her…

A _lot _more battles.

**End Chapter!** And yes, Loki is a cyborg-werewolf o.O (What _am _I on?) And yes, difficult lab-rat life and blah, but it's more here by the way of explanations, and _not_ for angst. The only way I have for dealing with loopholes, sorry.

_Is Loki the _only _female werewolf that ever existed?_ No. But it's a very rare occurence nonetheless, and the humans don't know about these a lot. (That was why Loki represented an object of interest and was cast aside from the rest of the batch.) It's a genetic mistake, kind of like mismatched eyes in humans, only on a... slightly _bigger_ scale.

_How could a child under seven have possibly handled all that abuse? Not believable. _Loki is _not _a child. Not a human child, at least. Any werewolf cub would be able to hadle that. Werewolves' strength shouldn't be measured by human standards.

_Does Loki have any "speshul" powers just because she's such an oddity? _No. Does a red tomato taste differently from a yellow tomato? (yes, there _is _a yellow tomato!) Loki's just an ordinary werewolf, strength-wise, aside from the cyborg-y claws. But the Chief doesn't know that. That's why she gets all the 'special treatment' and the cyborg-y claws.

Although maybe... but no, no, I'm not saying that. One thing, folks, it's all there for a reason, ooooh...


	3. Truth

**_Author's Note:_** Loki's life story continued. But without it, it would be really confusing, wouldn't it. I mean, a cyborg-werewolf? (Only a crazy, chocolate-high sci-fi nutter like me could come up with something like that o.O) But meh, better than some random OC with no past or purpose popping out of nowhere and right into Zabuza-san's arms, nay? Yeah. Anyways.

_**3. Truth**_

Perhaps Loki would've finished her training. Perhaps she would've become an unbeatable warrior, one of the best among other werewolf slaves. Maybe, just _maybe _she would've gone down in human laboratory records history as one of the most successful experiments ever accomplished, and her DNA would be frozen and saved to give birth to other highly successful werewolf warrior-slaves.

Maybe, just _maybe_, if on that seemingly ordinary day a glitch didn't occur in the system, unlocking all the doors in Sectors 13, 20 and 37. But that was the problem with all digital technology: from time to time, glitches did occur.

Incidentally, Loki's cell was located in sector 13.

She didn't have any training sessions that day, because the full moon was approaching and she was told to lie still and recuperate. She only got small breaks in-between her practice hours, and the energy drain before the full moon merely strengthened her current state of weakness.

Loki was lying with her eyes closed. Strange visions were sweeping through her mind, but they were so vague and engulfed in darkness that she couldn't make out what they could possibly be. It was raving, she thought. Just raving, as it usually happened before she had to _transform._

The lights in her cell flickered on and off. Something close by gave a soft metal 'click'. Loki opened her eyes and sat up on the hard couch with a shiver. What was that? Was she still raving? Slowly, she got up from where she lay and made her way across the cell to the door. She peered around this way and that from between the bars and took a sniff of the stuffy laboratory air. Something was wrong with the giant machines running this place, she could tell. Hmm, interesting…

Intrigued, she gave the cell door a slight push. In the steel depths something clicked and whirred as it slid slowly open. Loki stood and stared for a bit; then, cautiously treading, came out of the cell. She was… free?

It was the first time Loki was out of her cell all by herself, without any monitors to supervise and lead her. She tried exploring by following familiar scents, but there were just too many of them, and she got lost quite quickly. Loki didn't mind, though. The girl could return to her cell anytime she liked, but she had a slight feeling she won't be going on another tour like that again anytime soon. So Loki took her chances and walked on.

Humans were strange in many ways. The corridors Loki chose were deserted, but she could hear the busy bustling of many people walking not so far off. There were always too many people in some corridors, while others remained quite unused. Why? Loki didn't understand that.

Once or twice some scientists ran by, and Loki had to cling to the ceiling or hide in random open chambers to avoid getting noticed. She took her time to explore such chambers. They were either storerooms full of machines (which Loki was tempted to thrash, but didn't dare take the chance), or different training areas. Once she found herself in a hallway of large tubes full of greenish, gooey liquid; and in that liquid, _things _floated. Half-people, half-beasts; they were pending in the tubes with wires attached to their bodies, their eyes closed as though they were asleep, slumbering forever. The room was dark, and the tubes cast a soft greenish glow on the floor, walls, and the curious werewolf-girl standing there, watching as though transfixed.

Loki gawped at the sleeping shapes for a while. Then, without a sound, she backed out of the room and shut the door tight behind her.

* * *

Class A-108 was a group of newly arrived student biologists that were going to be employed at the Centre once they passed an essential preliminary course. It wasn't very difficult, really. All they mostly did was watch videos about where and what they were going to work with, and conduct minor experiments.

That day they were watching a video. It was about wolves. Not werewolves, but ordinary wolves – their life, characteristics and natural habitat. It was considered base material for working with werewolves, because the two species were so closely related. But of course, most people in Class A-108 were considering themselves expert biologists who knew all that stuff anyway, so half the group paid little attention to the documentary. However, if they weren't so busy drowsing behind their notes, fiddling with pencils or floating around in some distant world far, far away, they would've noticed somebody who _was _paying attention. Somebody who wasn't _supposed _to be there, that was. A pale, skinny girl was sitting in a corner, watching the animals on the screen with wide, curious eyes.

Loki had heard the auditorium from a long way off. The corridor she happened to be in was one of the most deserted in the whole area she'd covered, and the sounds of the video playing carried a long way. When she'd approached the auditorium, she found that there was no heavy steel door blocking the dark gap of the doorway, as was usually the case. Apparently, the humans were certain that nobody would disturb their session, so they decided not to bother with the door at all. Or perhaps they thought that even if a miracle happened and anyone got interested in this amateur review material, that person had all the rights to come in and share the boredom. What they _didn't _expect, however, was a run-away werewolf warrior-girl to come in and share the boredom, or, in her case, make a discovery.

Loki lingered around for a while; and then, when she was sure no one was watching, she slipped into the dark, dusty room and hid in a corner. Eyes glinting with curiosity, the wolf-girl watched the documentary, mesmerized for the second time during her "tour". The vague visions she'd been having whenever she crouched alone and scared in the room of bright light were now dashing through her mind again, becoming clearer and clearer. Those animals… those places… that sky… It all seemed so familiar…

She listened to the narrator, taking in the information. It was all new to her; and yet, in a way, it seemed as though she was re-living some old, forgotten experiences. She watched the wolves on the screen hunt, and could almost taste the prey's salty, reddish scent on her tongue. She saw the little pups play, and could almost imagine herself scuttling around in the dust, chasing a dried bone or a lump of feathers. But was it all just imagination…?

Something stirred in the muddy waters of Loki's recollection. Something dark, wolf-shaped and savage. A feeling formed itself in her mind, a distant memory, filling her with strange new emotions and an unexplained longing for… something. Loki kept staring at the screen, the unknown feeling growing stronger and more alarming. _Something_ was awakening inside her…

* * *

By the time the monitors had finally managed to locate the run-away werewolf, the documentary was almost over. But nobody, not even the instructor, was paying any attention to it now; the whole Class A-108 watched, open-mouthed, as four men in protective armour rushed into the auditorium and dragged a pale, wild-looking girl out of the shadows. It was all over in a couple of minutes. She didn't struggle much as they pulled her to her feet and out into the corridor, but she kept turning around, desperate to catch one last glimpse of the wolves on the screen. The biologists crowded out of their dark room to watch the armoured men lead the girl away. She walked between them, no longer resisting, her olive-green eyes cast down; and the student-scientists stood and stared after them for a long while after the men and the werewolf had rounded a corner.

* * *

Loki walked back along the complicated net of corridors, two of the guards alongside her holding both her arms, and one of them aiming a gun at her back. The fourth monitor was leading the way; he also had a gun in his hands. But those were rather unnecessary precautions – even if Loki's mind hadn't been too preoccupied at the moment with processing all the new information she had received, she would never think of attacking the humans. Although…

She kept thinking about the video. As they walked down the halls, she kept thinking about it. As the men pushed her into her cell and locked the newly-fixed door behind her, she kept thinking about it. And as her training was resumed in a couple of days, she still kept on thinking about it. The strange feeling inside of her was growing stronger each day. She began asking herself every time she trained, battled and was led back to her cell at the end of each session; why was she here? Who were these people? And could she really be…?

Thoughts came that she would never dream of thinking before. Memories arose from the darkest corners of her mind, filling her sleep with restless images. Questions dashed through her head like small currents of electric shock. For the first time in her life, Loki was interested in something other than training.

And one day, she'd made the decision.

She was called up to the Chief's office regularly, where he talked to her and asked her questions about her training, her strengths and weaknesses, and what she thought about the newest robot-opponents: that sort of thing. Well, Loki decided, it was about time _she _asked him questions. Normally, she'd never dare to; but now there was that wolf-shaped _feeling_ inside her head that pressed her on. And so, for the first time in her life and in all history of werewolf-slavery, she asked the Chief a _question_. It was very brief, and she stuttered a lot as the words formed on her tongue. But she did it – Loki asked the Chief about the wolves. She also asked him if she had had a pack, too. If yes, she wondered, then where was it and why wasn't she allowed to see it?

There, it was all over – she'd said it. The Chief stared at her for a long while. Then he laughed, somewhat nervously, and stared at her for another long while. Then he said,

"Foolish child. You have no 'pack'. You have no family. You were born at the Centre, manufactured by us, the scientists that work at this place. Moreover, I personally planned out your design and supervised your construction, and I must say that I wasn't mistaken in you. You are my most successful creation yet, Loki. You will be a powerful warrior one day. Now throw that idiocy out of your head and get back to your training, and stop wasting my time."

'You have no pack… you have no family…' These words descended onto Loki as heavily as a hammer on a nail head. She didn't quite realize it, but the more she'd been thinking of the wolves, the more she imagined herself being among them, playing like a cub, the more she felt that something very much like a dream began developing in her hardened heart. It was in its earliest stages so far; merely a hint of a _shadow _of a dream, but it was something to dwell upon when the pain became unbearable. It was something to think about with closed eyes, lying peacefully on the rigid bed back in her cell… and now it was being taken away from her… She was being told to throw it out of her head…

The Chief looked at the door pointedly, behind which two monitors were standing, waiting to take the girl away. He turned back to his computer screen and began typing something really fast. Loki didn't move. She watched him ignoring her, and realized that she was starting to feel angry. He lied, she knew. He thought that his half-smile and his calm behaviour fooled her, but he was wrong. She could feel his scent, and she _knew_ he was lying. This meant that she had a pack after all, she _must've _had one, and this… this _horrible man_ was hiding them from her! Why? She didn't understand. Humans were strange. She had trusted him, and now he wouldn't tell her the truth? He wouldn't get away with this, Loki thought, she wouldn't let him. But what could she do?

'_Attack him,' _said the wolf-shaped feeling in the back of her head. _'Threaten him, show him your claws. Show him what his "creation" can do. Attack him!'_

It was the least sensible thing a werewolf could do, and if Loki was a bit saner as she was thinking this, she'd realize that. But at the moment she was swept over by rage as the wolf-feeling cheered her on. And when she felt she couldn't conceal her anger any longer, her hands clenched to form fists, and with a sharp _'sliinng'_ her claws sprang out from between her knuckles.

The Chief looked up from the computer screen, surprised by the sound, and found himself staring up at two sets of shining blades and a pair of olive-green eyes glinting maliciously from behind them.

Loki took a few steps forward, teeth bared.

"You tell me where my pack is _right now_," she growled. Her common sense tugged slightly on the back of her mind, but she ignored it. The wolf-feeling was in control now, and it wasn't about to stop and let her think about the situation.

"Now, now then, Loki, be rational," said the Chief, holding out his hands in front of him and moving slightly backwards in his chair. There was nothing she could do, he told himself. The werewolf-girl wouldn't _dare_ hurt him. She wouldn't _dare_…

His computer was shredded to pieces, along with his desk, as Loki brought down her deadly claws with an incredible force. The Chief had to duck behind his comfortable armchair to avoid getting hit by the splinters. Loki looked at him, cowering among the clouds of dust. It was hard to tell what was angering her so much. It was _everything_. It was his scent, that pathetic reek of fear mingling with the other hurtful stenches of this place that she had come to despise so much. It was the visions, those vague recollections that suddenly materialized in her mind as she lay, exhausted, resting after the training sessions. And it was this new, savage presence that had awakened in her after she'd watched that movie about the wolves. The list of reasons was too long, too unclear. Loki only thought of it afterwards. But at that precise moment, she only thought about how extremely _angry_ she was.

The girl was advancing on the man, eyes glinting wildly. Her resemblance to a wolf was striking. She raised a clawed hand again.

"Speak", she commanded, and wasn't at all surprised to hear a wolfish growl instead of her normal voice. "Speak!"

Suddenly, the Chief's hand jerked up, a small black revolver appearing in his fist seemingly out of thin air. He fired it twice. One of the bullets ricocheted off Loki's claws as she swung her arm to defend herself, but the other one pierced her shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through her arm. Loki was taken aback, but only for a second. She smiled nastily as her wound sizzled softly and was instantly healed. Her short-lasting confusion, though, was enough for the Chief to recuperate from shock and press an emergency button on the arm of his chair.

What happened later was still a blur in Loki's mind for a long while after it was over. As the monitors rushed in, their double-barrelled machine-guns loaded, they found the Chief lying under a black heap of what had a second ago been his armchair, and a vicious-looking… _something_ standing in the middle of the rubble, growling menacingly. The creature that they saw could hardly be called a girl. It was partly human-shaped, partly transformed; it had fangs and a tail, and its eyes glowed with an inhuman craziness. It roared in fury and rushed past them at an unimaginable speed before they could even think of firing their guns; and before they knew it, the two monitors were down on the floor, their stomachs torn apart by the merciless metal claws.

…The alarms went off as half-girl-half-wolf sped past the corridors, tearing up everything in her demented run. There was only one concept in her mind, one thought only. Escape, she thought. Outside… freedom… forest… pack… She was angry and confused. She followed scents, broke down doors, rushed into rooms, was greeted by horrified screams, ran out, broke down other doors… The girl, no the _werewolf_ was soon lost in the maze of hallways, but she was _sure _the exit was somewhere close by. She just had to find it…

More men with guns ran after her, as the message of a dangerous run-away werewolf was passed along the whole giant of a building. Bullets fired, but they either missed or left Loki with minor wounds that healed right away. More humans appeared in front of her, but she tore them apart as easily as though they were sacks filled with sand. She didn't think anymore. The savage wolf-feeling was in control now, leaping and thrashing and howling as Loki, in response to that calling, wreaked havoc on her surroundings. She was twice her normal size now, a sight of wicked glory and awe-inspiring power. But as splendid and frightening as she was in her pursuit of freedom, she was clearly outnumbered. And besides, humans had a terrible weapon themselves.

If Loki were to stop and think, she'd realize many important things, one of which being that she was being led into a trap. It was like a wolf-hunt, only on a larger scale; and the goal of it was to chase her into one of the Centre's multiple "emergency rooms", designed especially for cases like this. Loki, no, the _wolf-feeling_ thought it was being in control; but it was wrong. Loki was behaving like an animal would – and she was going to pay the price.

Surely enough, she soon found that she had nowhere to run. The wolf-girl came to a dead end. She rushed back to the doorway, only to find it slammed shut in her face. She grinned widely at this little setback. The humans seriously thought that _this _was going to stop _her_? She raised her claws, prepared to tear the door off its hinges… and stopped suddenly. Something was wrong here… She sniffed the air. Her pupils narrowed to slits, and her hackles rose as she growled softly, preparing to attack. But then…

One thousand clicks filled the chamber with a metallic echo as one thousand apertures sprang open in the flat, white walls. And from those dark, glaring gaps one thousand gun barrels appeared and as one pointed at the wolf-girl. She whirled around and stood in one place, unmoving, eyes wide with terror. Realization was finally beginning to dawn on her. She would not escape this place…

Her last thought was interrupted as the automated guns went off, spraying her with a hail of pellets. She recognized that hateful scent from far away, that overwhelming, overpowering scent, the only one that she knew she wouldn't be able to fight. Loki hadn't had any close encounters with such a thing before, and she had no knowledge of the genetic weakness passed down to her through generations and generations of werewolf-kind, but she could _feel _that it was something dreadful, something she couldn't possibly win against. She knew she was going to die. She might as well do it with _honour_. She might as well struggle. At least then she'd know that she'd tried.

Loki completed the transformation and rushed back towards the door as the hail of silver plummeted through the air and down on her sleek, lupine body, spluttered with sweat and blood…

**End Chapter!** Dun-dun-duuun. Oooh, dramaaaatic! Heh, I just stuck it all in one chappie because I myself want to get it all over with and get to the Zabuza and Haku part already. x3 But anyway... read on, my dear readers, read on... --tries not to look scary-- --fails--

Oh, and yes, Loki was indeed inspired by Wolverine. But then again, long metal claws seem to be the very thing this year... --reminisces of all the wonderful shows that used them-- One just can't help oneself, they're that good. x3


	4. Run

**_Author's Note:_** Another extra-long chapter just for you, my dear readers, if by this time there still are any left. Ain't I an optimist? x3 Anyway, if you're reading this: congratulations for making it this far! (whether it was by honestly reading the whole thing or skipping out parts, and in the latter case you'll have to go back because there will be many unclear parts in the future for you. )

No, really. Sorry to drag this on, but I just couldn't make it shorter or skip over parts, trust me. So thanks for sticking with me all this way. I appreciate it. x3

_**4. Run**_

…Loki awakened to find herself hanging in mid-air in a strange, dimly-lit chamber. It was dark all around her; the only light came from some turned-on computer screens nearby, which gave off a soft, greenish kind of glow. This meant that the girl wouldn't be able to get a good look around anyway.

After a closer inspection, Loki discovered that she was actually bound to some sort of a metal construction. Her hands and feet were completely enclosed in some kind of strange spherical manacles which prevented her from ejecting her claws. She was attached to the construction by bright electric currents, which flowed lightning-like back and forth between the manacles and the four gleaming tubes in the metal structure that protruded from the floor and the ceiling. It was quite an uncomfortable position, but Loki had other things on her mind right now. She was still dazed after the silver-pellet attack, and her skin was sore where the accursed metal touched her flesh… which was pretty much every inch of her. Her head was bursting as the distressing light-purplish scent of silver still lingered around her in see-through fumes. Loki shook herself, and the electric currents holding her sizzled and turned blue for a moment.

After a while, the wolf-girl's mind cleared a bit and she was able to reflect on everything that had happened. She scanned her mind for any sign of the wolf-feeling, and realized that it was nowhere to be found. It must've been hiding in some far-off corner of her mind and recuperating. No wonder she wasn't feeling savage and murderous anymore.

Loki sighed, and shook her head to get the hair out of her eyes. How did she get herself into this mess? This was the first time ever she went… berserk like that, and now she didn't even remember what the whole struggle was about…

Ah yes, of course. It was about freedom, she remembered now. About that, _and _about finding her pack; if it existed, that was. Now that everything was over, Loki began doubting her earlier convictions. What if the Chief had been telling the truth all along? What if she really _was_ manufactured?

But no, he lied; she had felt it in his scent. At first he had been slightly nervous, and then had grown steadily more so as their conversation progressed. Loki's nose couldn't be fooled. And that meant, she realized with a jolt, that the freedom _was _worth fighting for. She couldn't say what was so great about giving up the life she was already used to and wandering into an unfamiliar territory which she had absolutely no knowledge about, but it… sort of… called out to her. Like it was in her… blood, or something. It must be a werewolf thing, she figured.

A while passed, and Loki gradually re-convinced herself that finding her pack was important, and running away was the main priority. But she couldn't get out of this place by sheer force and rage, she had learned _that_ much. Loki couldn't afford making another mistake like that. What she did was horrible; not that she cared about all the smashed places and hurt humans, but after a fit like that, she realized, she might not be given a second chance to begin with. Nevertheless, thought the wolf-girl, she should start making plans right now. To succeed, she would need to be sneaky. She would need to lie low and wait. But first of all, she would need to get out of this freaking… this… (Loki struggled for appropriate words, but in vain) this... _chamber_!

* * *

The Chief knew that the most sensible way to deal with this was to give the werewolf-girl _the shot_ and get it all over with. But the problem was that this particular werewolf-girl was an abnormality, a rare specimen, _and _she was showing a lot of talent in battle. If she finished her training and became an elite warrior, she would fetch a lot of money. It would be a pity to throw millions of dollars away just like that. Of course, she could always be cloned and _then _put to sleep, but clones didn't live for very long, and there was often something wrong with them, anyway. Copies were never as good as the original. There was also the option of erasing, or, to speak in more... correct terms, suppressing Loki's memories, but as the incident in question had shown, it wasn't a very reliable safety precaution. Moreover, her memories had already been erased once, and meddling with her mind for the second time was quite dangerous – it could result in handicapping her brain completely; and it was a well-known fact that mentally disabled werewolves did _not_ make good warriors. It had taken eleven long years to train Loki, and the Chief wasn't about to just throw eleven years worth of time, efforts and resources out the window. 

In other words, the Chief wasn't very keen on killing Loki off. On the other hand, there was that whole questionnaire about her true origins that she'd given him, and then that horrible fit she threw afterwards that left half of the Section E-1 in smouldering ruins. Not that he cared a lot about all the smashed places and hurt people (they _did _take those jobs at their own risk, you know), but those were _expenses _he was thinking about here! And to cover all the expenses, you needed money. Not that he was a greedy man, but there was just never enough money. It was all about money. Money, money, money. Money was at work _everywhere_; you could never have too much of it (because if you did, it always managed to magically disappear in some bugger of a manager's back-pocket).

The Chief wasn't _usually _a greedy or indifferent man. But if gambling on people's lives by letting a potentially dangerous werewolf-warrior stick around meant making enormous profits, he was ready to take the chance.

* * *

Loki was staring blankly into space when the door slid open and a dark figure appeared in the entrance, contrasting sharply with the brightly-lit rectangle of the doorway. Her head snapped up at once. She recognized the scent. It was the Chief. 

"I have come to talk to you," he said, a polite grin spreading across his face.

Loki was quiet. Well, what _could_ she say? Somehow 'how nice of you to drop by, help yourself to a cup of tea' did _not_ seem like a suitable and expected response.

Meanwhile, the Chief went on. Loki had already prepared herself for a nice long introduction to the topic, but apparently the man was very busy, because he got to the point straight away.

"You were my most trusted warrior, Loki. I created you, raised you, trained you with those very hands…"

Oh boy, there he goes with that whole 'you're manufactured' load of bull all over again, thought Loki grimly.

"…My men gave you life and purpose, without them you'd still be a shapeless lump of DNA floating in a test-tube somewhere…"

Scratch that about him getting straight to the point, sighed the wolf-girl. No, she didn't want to hear it all out again. She shook herself in her shackles, causing the electric currents to sizzle and send blue sparks flying.

"Just say it, old man," she said quietly, her voice grumpy and rough.

The Chief stopped for a moment and wagged a finger at the ominous dark shape hanging sullenly in her giant manacles. He wasn't afraid at all, he told himself.

"The point _is_ that you've destroyed half the building, you got angry over some ridiculous ravings and you lost control over yourself! Being a warrior is all about controlling yourself!" He saw the girl's eyes flicker dangerously in the darkness. "You've been a _very _bad girl, Loki, and you _will_ pay the consequences. You will not be returning to your training…"

In the darkness, Loki gulped. She wasn't going back? What did he mean? Was he going to have her killed? No, it wasn't as if she was afraid of dying or anything, but there were just so many _things _left for her to do; it couldn't be all over, not _now_ of all times!

"…You'll be going away for a while to a… a _reformatory _centre. A reformatory centre is a place where… well, where _bad _werewolves are changed back into _good _werewolves. Understand? You'll be doing some hole-digging… and… stuff, and when you'll be ready, we will return for you and take you back. It's all in your best interests…"

There was a lot of gesturing and finger-fidgeting involved in the explanation. Loki could only hang and stare. 'Reformatory centre'? What made him think she wouldn't try to run away from some stupid reformatory centre?

Something at the back of her mind was nagging at her. It had been trying to get her attention for quite some time now, and was currently jumping up and down and waving its hands in a desperate attempt to get Loki to see it.

The Chief was still rambling on about the reformatory centre when the wolf-girl coughed, loudly enough to get the man to listen.

"There's something I wanted to know, er…" she said. "About how I got caught, you know, on my… rampage… thing." Her voice was quiet and steely. It didn't sound like a human voice at all.

The Chief listened.

"Those bullets… I thought I was going to die… Why didn't they kill me? They _seemed_ deadly enough… How come I'm still alive? I was just wondering…"

Her voice trailed off. She hadn't _really _expected an answer. To her surprise, however, the Chief turned out to be fully willing to cooperate.

"Those weren't _bullets_. They were _pellets,_" he said in a tone that suggested that this explained everything.

There was an awkward silence from Loki's end of the room.

The Chief sighed. "They weren't designed to _kill_," he explained in a slightly irritated sort of voice, the kind of voice one uses to explain to a really dull five-year-old what a potty is for. "They only attached themselves to your skin and expanded, encasing you in a shell and preventing you from moving or staying conscious. Do you know why you couldn't stay conscious? Because the pellets were made from _silver_. You see, Loki, as invincible as you may think you are, there are ways of taming a werewolf. Silver is the surest way to keep you under control. Let me demonstrate…"

The scientist pressed a button on the pedestal somewhere to the right of the metal structure that held Loki imprisoned. A thin antenna-like thing with a small sphere on its end protruded from the ceiling and lowered itself until it was level with Loki's face. The small sphere glinted innocently in the dim computer light. It was surrounded by a thin light-purple veil of scent.

Somehow, the girl felt what was coming up next. Silver, huh, she thought. She would dodge out of the thing's way, only there was nowhere to dodge. She could only hang in her shackles and take in the sickening reek. The antenna stretched down and out until the silver sphere could touch Loki's cheek. Her skin hissed and smouldered where the sphere was being pressed into it, and she could soon feel the scent of her own burning flesh. Loki winced.

"So you see now," the Chief went on. "Silver can cause a lot of pain to you werewolves. It is very unfortunate that I have to use it on _you_ of all… people, but it cannot be helped. You did a terrible thing, and you're being punished. Now, if you'll be a _good_ girl in the reformatory, your punishment just might be shorter by a teensy bit. Catch my drift?"

Loki was quiet. The Chief took her silence as a 'yes'. He pressed another button on the pedestal, and the silver antenna disappeared into the ceiling.

Loki had gotten the slightest of suspicions that she had already begun to understand what this whole 'reformatory centre' thing was going to be all about.

* * *

The official-looking truck rattled up the stony country-road. The city was a long way behind it now, and the forest was stretching away on either sides of the road. There was something _dark _and _ancient_ about it, something that vaguely suggested that if you wandered into it after dark you weren't likely to come out in one piece. In other words, it was exactly the kind of forest that scared the patooties out of average city-dwellers, whatever 'patooties' were. The driver of the official-looking truck wasn't too happy about it, either. But work was work, and it had to be done. 

The truck took a turn, and then another turn. Now the road was even rockier and muddier than before, and had a slightly abandoned look to it. The trees loomed high above, blocking off the sky with a thick canopy of branches. It suddenly seemed to be a bit too dark for four o'clock in the afternoon.

Finally, the truck arrived at a clearing. It was a very large, very broad clearing that harboured about a dozen of long, shabby-looking sheds and a very clean and official-looking five-storey building that didn't fit at all into its gloomy surroundings. A large area in the background was closed off to the outsider's eye by a tall, impenetrable-looking fence. And around the whole place one would see, if one looked around carefully enough, many intricate wires, poles and other objects that at first glance seemed to all be a part of the structure that gleamed oddly in the rare sunlight that penetrated the trees. If one had the vision, or rather the sense of smell of a werewolf, one would also see a veil of thin, light-purple smoke hanging over the place.

Six people in silver armour came out of the five-storey building and headed for the truck. Two of them exchanged a couple of words with the drivers, while the other four went to the back of the truck to unload the cargo. A long, rectangular box was extracted from there and heaved by the men into the building. It was covered by a silvery cloth-like material. In a strange and inexplicable way it resembled a coffin. The drivers came out of their cabin to watch the unloading of the box; and then, as the four haulers disappeared behind the doors of the headquarters, they spoke some more to the other two people in silver. After that, the drivers got back into the cabin, and the official-looking truck drove off.

* * *

Loki awoke to the sound of bustling activity. Her whole body was still stiff and sore from the tranquilizer and the scent of silver that had enveloped her all throughout the journey and had managed to penetrate even her sleep, heavy as it was. Even as she lay where she was, she could see light-purple flowing around her in distressing waves. Loki raised her head a bit, and found that it was hard to move. Her wrists and ankles tingled slightly with pain. She looked at them and found that they were shackled in silver. Loki groaned and lay back down onto the hard mattress. So I was right, she thought. There's going to be a heck of a lot of silver involved in this ordeal. Not looking forward to that… 

The girl looked around to examine and take in the new surroundings. She found that the thoughts were moving much slower through her head now, and her whole conscience was enveloped in something like a thick, white fog. That must've been the silver affecting her mind.

Nevertheless, she didn't fail to notice that the room she was in was very strange. It was nothing like the dark, steely cells back in the laboratory. It seemed so light and fresh compared to them, except, of course, for the scent of silver. Loki could catch a cool movement of air on her face that was strangely enjoyable. It seemed to bring back memories… fond memories…

But she didn't get to think too much about it, because at that very moment the door swung open and a woman in armour appeared in the doorway. Loki raised her head an inch to see.

"Ah, the new girl," said the woman. The sound of her voice was pleasant enough, but her tone seemed brittle with ice. "Up!"

Loki heaved herself into a sitting position with great effort. Something about the woman's attitude made you think twice before disobeying an order.

"Welcome to the Greyfang Mining Corp, the National Werewolf Reformatory Centre," barked the woman, not sounding welcoming at all. "I'm here to familiarize you with the instructions."

* * *

The next few days passed in an excruciating monotony. It soon became very clear to Loki why there were no thick-wall cells in this place to keep the werewolves in, and why the guards around here were armed with nothing more than crossbows. There was simply no need for anything more. The whole place was _saturated_ with silver; silver was in every room, every crevice of the sheds, and its scent slithered around in thick, nauseating fumes. 

Well, nobody could beat humans in inventing torturous punishments, because only a human could come up with the idea of werewolves working in a silver mine. It all worked out, of course. You didn't have to actually _pay _a werewolf, and they were too weakened by the influence of the toxic metal to revolt. The shackles they wore prevented them from moving too fast, and the sickly scent poisoned their brains, making sure that no thoughts got across faster than a feather falling through cement. And by the time the full moon came the creatures were so exhausted that locking them up in their stables was all it took to ensure safety.

The place itself was rather old-fashioned. There were neither high-tech security devices nor modern mining technology around. It was a waste of money, the founders of the company had found, when there was so much free labour force about that could be subdued so easily and didn't require much more than good food in any case. And good food was a lot less expensive than acquiring the latest mining technology.

The overseer-woman explained to Loki what she had to do on her very first day in the Reformatory Centre, or more precisely, the silver mine. The girl's job wasn't too complicated. Since there were many werewolves already working around the place, the humans could afford employing some of them for smaller tasks. Loki's job was to help unload the carts that came up from the mineshafts and do other minor errands, like clearing the roads or moving big boulders around. She had to work among many other wolf-people in rain or heat and whether she was rested well enough or not. They were awakened early by the sound of the horn, and they worked their rears off until it was too dark for the humans to supervise them.

Loki was finding it a lot harder to concentrate on separate concepts now. Her head hurt constantly, and her muscles were always sore from the silver shackles she wore day and night. Since the silver around here didn't actually enter the werewolves' bloodstream (in most cases), it couldn't _kill_ them as such, but it made them very slow and dim-witted. They became… zombies, in a way. They died a lot sooner than they would in freedom, too. The whole point of her coming here, Loki reflected in her first days in the reformatory, back when she could still reflect, was to make her forget. It worked sort of like a digital memory-eraser did, only it wasn't… as quick and destructive. In a way. Her strength would be restored once she returned to the laboratory, and the thinking process would regenerate itself with time, but all rebellious thoughts would be forgotten. Loki was already beginning to feel apathy, indifference. With time she would be broken, just like the rest of the slaves…

Only that day was never to come.

* * *

It was another hot summer afternoon. Loki had just finished unloading the cart and was waiting for another one to be dragged to the surface. Sweat was trickling down her forehead despite the cool breeze that swept over the clearing from time to time. There were trees in the distance, just like in the video she had once seen, but she was too exhausted to think about that. Those trees… 

Loki glanced up at the merciless, glaring sun and tried to remember the wolves. It was something she often did, or tried to at least, in the short breaks she got in-between her tasks. It's been roughly two weeks now since she'd arrived at the reformatory, and she'd wasted the first week adjusting to the new environment and generally being too stunned to think about anything. But as the time progressed the girl came to realize that little by little her memories were ebbing away, and her mind was slowly filling with an animal indifference. She couldn't afford that, she knew. She had a goal now, and the more those humans tried to take it away from her, the more she hung on to it, out of sheer will and stubbornness.

The cart sure took its sweet time. Loki glanced around her, turning her head steadily to take in the surroundings. There was a thought she'd been harbouring in her mind, a thought she was afraid to lose in the thick, purplish haze. She'd been planning to run away from this place. It hadn't occurred to Loki that she had no place to go to and that she knew nothing about forests. The woods called out to her, and the wolf-feeling inside of her responded, faint and weakened as it was. Deep inside, Loki was a wolf; and right now she was thinking like one as well. The problem was, she had no clear plan in her mind, and she'd feel too weak to go through with it in any case. Something always came up, and Loki delayed her escape, day after day. That was the silver taking its toll on her brain.

But today, Loki felt… different. Whether it was because the trees seemed greener and more beckoning, or because the sun was hotter, or whether the guards seemed a bit more relaxed today, she couldn't tell. She just knew that it had to be today or never.

The wolf-girl looked around again. Here and there, werewolf-people lumbered about lazily doing their tasks, their shackles clanking softly as they moved. The guards were hanging around their watchtowers, exchanging short conversations and not really paying much attention to their charges. And there, at the far end of the clearing, the trees rustled softly in a passing-by breeze. Calling, calling…

Loki stood, swaying slightly. She was quite used to feeling dizzy now. The cart was still on its way… Now or never. All right…

There was a _'sling'_ and two claws appeared from under the skin just above the girl's toes. She made a sort of an awkward pirouette in the air, swinging her foot about so that her claws cut the silver chain binding her to the heavy lead weight-sphere. The blades then retracted as she stumbled forwards into the sand. The girl glanced around once again. Nobody appeared to have noticed her clumsy whirling act. Good… Trying to look casual and on task, she started towards the fence on the opposite side of the clearing.

For the guards up on the tower, it was just another ordinary day. They stood around, smoking home-made cigarettes, and were dying of boredom. Why bother looking after these things? They were too dim to do anything except what they were told to, anyway. Well, at least it was _them _that had to do the mining... Man, was it hot outside! A glass of whisky would be nice right about now…

By a pure accident, one of the men happened to glance down. By an even greater accident, he happened to have eyesight sharp enough to spot a small werewolf hobbling onwards uncertainly, with the weight-sphereless chain dragging along uselessly behind her in the sand. He squinted as he tried to examine the strange werewolf closer.

"Hey, guys, look… Why's that one doesn't have a weight on?" he asked, pointing. A couple more heads turned in the wolf-girl's direction.

"That's strange…"

"HEEEEEEY!!!" yelled another guard, "BITC-- WOLF… GIRL!!! Where'd you think you're goin'???"

Through the fog of silver stench blocking her senses, Loki was vaguely aware of the agitation on the watchtower. She kept going, however, staring straight ahead of her. Stay calm, she told herself, you can do it. She tripped over a rock, but steadied herself and kept going. Silver dragged her down. Hot sweat formed on her forehead. Her head swam, but she kept going.

"Stop RIGHT NOW or we'll SHOOT!" roared the guard that had first spotted the girl. Oh hell, why am I even bothering with the warning, he thought, loading his crossbow with a silver-tipped arrow. Human appearance could be so off-setting…

Loki felt it coming and stumbled over to one side as the arrow came whooshing past her and buried itself in the sand. Three more arrows came towards her back, slicing the air. Loki dodged those, too. Behind her, she could hear yelling. The men became more and more agitated as they saw her struggles. They didn't take her escaping attempt too seriously. They knew she wouldn't be able to escape anyway, so they didn't think it important enough to contact the headquarters right away. It was a boring day, and here was a perfect chance to have some fun… how could they miss such a great opportunity? Bowstrings strained as more arrows were being loaded…

Soon Loki became aware of a hail of arrows heading her way. She knew she wouldn't be able to dodge every one of them; but every one of them, she was sure, was crammed with a deadly dose of silver. Loki started running, slowly at first as her sore feet were getting used to the concept. The arrows missed her narrowly, and she was now aware of a few werewolves stopping in their tracks to watch. She was sweating all over. She was running in silver, through silver, with silver pursuing her… and with a streak of terrible pain, silver had just buried itself in one of her ankles. Loki fell forward, gripping the sand with her hands as blood gushed out of the wound. She felt tears streaming down her face as her flesh burned and melted under the accursed metal.

The men lowered their bows. The lucky firer grinned at the others proudly.

"Nice one," said the guard with the sharp eyesight. "Good hunt, eh?"

But the werewolves were still watching. The girl, her face screwed up in effort, was kneeling on one leg now, like a sprinter poised to run. There was a moment of stilled movement as the whole world drew its breath, and then…

"What?? She's up again! Damn her to hell!"

The bowstrings sang as more arrows were released into the air after the feisty girl. She ran on, dodging them, jumping, the purplish fog lifting slowly from her conscience as her entire body was awakening from a long, deep slumber. An especially ignorant werewolf was in her way, slowly carrying something wide and flat with rocks on it. Loki stumbled into it, ripping the flat thing from its hands and turned to face the incoming arrows, using the thing like a shield.

The men were furious now. How dared that mongrel resist them? On the other hand though, it was a good game. It was the first time an event like that ever occurred in this place, and it was worth the efforts.

The guard with the sharp eyesight stepped back from the others, who, pushing and cursing, continued sending countless arrows into the desperately self-defending wolf-girl. There was a pass from this tower to the next ones that provided a much clearer view of the struggling werewolf. Using a shield to hide behind, trying to be clever, she was. He smiled to himself. Two could play at this game… Unnoticed by anyone, he walked until he reached the perfect spot. The girl was too concentrated on deflecting the others' attacks, she knew nothing… He spat onto the wooden floor. Then he aimed at the rebel's unprotected back…

Loki was completely unprepared for the attack. She sensed the arrow all right, but at that precise moment about a dozen more came from the front, and if she turned _this_ way she would dodge those ones, but that would leave her back open and _that _meant…

Her world exploded in a whirlwind of pain, blood, scent of burning skin and evil multicoloured lights. It was a torment beyond imagination, an excruciating agony that made every cell in her body scream in intolerable anguish. Loki's eyes glazed over and for a moment she could only see black as her limp body slumped lifelessly onto the sand. An arrow was sticking out of her back, half-buried in the girl's flesh, missing her spinal cord by a mere inch. Blood bubbles hissed and burst, as the dark-red liquid ran steaming down her sides. It was all over. She was going to die. Oh well, at least she knew that she'd tried…

_"Giving up already?"_

_Somewhere inside of her, on an island of calm in the endless sea of pain, Loki opened her eyes. The wolf-feeling was facing her from the darkness, fangs bared._

_"Get up," it said._ _"Remember what you're fighting for. Get up right now. Open your eyes!!_"

_'I… can't,' Loki said simply. The wolf-feeling sneered. And as it did, visions filled Loki's head, as clear as if they were a movie on a screen; no… as if she was _living_ them. It was the laboratory at first. The chamber of glowing capsule-tubes, bodies floating in each one, slumbering forever. She was one of the bodies. Her eyes were shut tight. Loki shivered as she watched. But then the visions became brighter, wilder. Trees were groaning in a fierce gale. Wolves were howling their savage, beautiful song. And the full moon filled her vision, pale and shimmering._

_"Open your eyes!!!!!" roared the wolf-feeling, as the visions merged into one big scene._

_The Loki in the capsule-tube opened her eyes, full of anger, power, longing and determination. She had the eyes of a wolf, and the full moon reflected brightly inside of them._

…Back on the sandy clearing, the struck-down girl's eyes snapped open. They had the steely glint of those of a wolf, and their pupils were narrowed to slits. And if one looked close into those merciless orbs full of determination, one would see the full moon reflecting dimly inside of them.

Up on the watchtower, the guard smiled smugly. That was one clever idea he had come up with. He saw the other men running towards him over the pass, grinning broadly and shouting their congratulations. The atmosphere was like that after a successful hunt. He spit onto the floor again and then looked out from the tower once more.

"Show's over! Stop gawping and get back to work!!!" he yelled at the staring werewolves. With the last glance at the wolf-girl's body, they slowly resumed their tasks. Some of them, who still had some bits and pieces of their intellect left in their broken minds, were rather saddenned by this outcome. To them, this whole act of resistance was like a… like a _symbol_ of… _something_…

Loki lay in the sand for a bit, staring at nothing, wind playing in her hair. For a while, nothing happened; but then, suddenly, she began changing. Her ears lengthened. Her claws grew. Her whole body twitched as she felt heartbeats pounding in her head… It was as if the wolf-feeling was awakening inside of her again, but this time _really _awakening…

The creature sprang up from the ground. It wasn't a girl anymore, it was a _werewolf_. The arrows in her back and ankle didn't matter anymore, she didn't notice the pain. Escape was the only priority. And it was there, ahead of her… So close…

It was a while before the guards noticed that the girl was up and running again. The sharp-eyed guard swore loudly. It wasn't funny anymore. There was absolutely nothing amusing about game that kept getting up over and over again. It began to dawn on him, as well as on the rest of the crew that this was getting serious.

Loki was almost at the fence when the howl of the siren broke out across the clearing, and a hail of arrows was up in the air again. She was aware of men running after her, shouting, but they were a long way off. They didn't matter. Not when the wolf-feeling was in control. The werewolf completed her transformation and stood for a second, sizing up the wall in front of her. It was tall, and had a silver spiked wire stretched across the top. That didn't matter. Loki crouched, every muscle in her lupine body tense, and then sprang upwards. Her claws, not the metal ones, but her natural wolf claws buried themselves deep in the wood as she made contact with the fence, six feet above the ground. It wasn't her best jump, but it would do. Vaguely remembering her survival exercises, the girl began to climb, higher and higher, getting closer to freedom with every inch. More silver-tipped arrows were whistling past her ears, one of them pinning her left paw squarely to the fencing. That was no problem. She just jerked it out, arrow and all, and kept going. There was no stopping her now.

The other werewolves were watching again. They were looking at the girl, no, the wolf struggle and something stirred inside them beneath the thick white fog of oblivion. Something was arising from the muddy waters of recollection in every one of them who wasn't completely broken down by silver and humans. That little female was fighting all alone, and she was so close to succeeding. If _she_ could do it, then why couldn't they? One of the werewolves dropped the boulder he was carrying. A low growl started up on the clearing, spreading out like a disease.

The humans slowed down as they reached the fence. They were out of arrows by then, so they could only stand and watch as reinforcements were approaching at a fast pace across the clearing; and up on the fence, the shaggy, bleeding form of the wolf was scrambling over the top. Some of the brighter men tackled the woodwork at a run, almost causing Loki to lose her balance and topple back to the ground; but in the end she regained her position, and as the whole world drew its breath tensely once more, the werewolf plunged over the fence and down the slope of a sand-covered hill. She rolled over and over for a while, coming to a stop at the base of the hill, where the forest began. Then the wolf got up again, only to trot for a few feet and collapse, exhausted, into the thick undergrowth. The branches closed in over her, and in the shadows of the coveted vegetation, Loki transformed once more. That was it - she was too weak to go on. Was it over?

It damn well wasn't! A group of four men in armour was sent out to search for her. Since there were no gates in the fence except for the large ones at the end that faced the headquarters on the other side of the clearing, they had to take the long way around, presumably giving the werewolf more time to escape. They were given silver-tipped spears and the order to kill the girl on sight. She couldn't have made it far, they figured; though eventually, in order to cover a greater area, the small group had to split up.

Loki the girl was lying on her stomach, surrounded by greenery, when she felt a man approaching slowly and heard the faint sounds of undergrowth being moved aside. She would strike, but she was too weak to raise a hand, let alone her whole body. Her muscles were groaning in indignation, and the places where silver was eating away at her flesh were hurting like hell. There was no way she could escape this one, she thought. No bloody way… The man didn't know she was there, but he'd find her eventually, and then… She winced. Oh well. She tried. She'd led an… interesting life and struggled up to the last minute, but there was little fight left in her now. At least she was going to die free. The girl closed her eyes tighter and lay, waiting for the life-ending blow. The man kept advancing… She could feel the scent of his silver armour. Any second now…

But nothing happened. The blow didn't come, and Loki didn't die horribly and torturously but in absolute freedom. Instead, a faint voice called to the man standing mere inches away from the bush-hidden girl.

"Come, let's go! They need us on the mine site!"

The man approaching Loki stopped in his tracks.

"But what about the wolf-girl??" he yelled to whoever was calling him back.

"Forget the bloody girl, she won't make it far, she'll die from her wounds anyway… We'll search for the body later!" the voice seemed impatient. "They _need_ us!" When that didn't seem to make an impression, the voice added: "They say the other werewolves back on the mine site are revolting, too! They need every man! Hurry up, will ya?"

"What??" The man near Loki swore under his breath. "Hold on!" he yelled, re-tracing his steps as he hurried out of the bushes and away from the wolf-girl.

Loki lay in the brushwood, stunned by the sudden turn of events. She wasn't going to be killed? That was… it was almost too good to be true… She wasn't captured! She was free! The word rolled round and round in her mind, like a little clockwork toy. Free…

Tired and bleeding, but strangely happy, she closed her eyes for just one moment…

* * *

Loki awoke with the start as darkness descended onto the forest above her. She could hear dull noise from the campsite, where the other werewolves were still losing a desperate battle. It must be almost over now… 

The girl was exhausted. The sleep didn't much help her in regaining energy: she lost a lot of blood; the silver was preventing her wounds from healing, and in addition to all that, she was hungry. The happy sense of freedom wasn't there anymore, nor was the savage wolf-feeling. In fact, none of the emotions were present; her mind was almost completely empty of everything. And it wasn't a good emptiness, either.

Loki's head swam as she gathered her strength and pulled herself up into a sitting position. She had to go deeper into the woods. Sooner or later, the guards would come looking for her again, and _this_ time she might not be as lucky as to be left alive. The girl got onto her feet with an effort. It hurt to stand. She glanced ahead of her, straight into a cloud of thick, white fog. She could see nothing, not even up close. Strange… The girl raised a hand to her face and moved it about. Nothing but fog. Horror dawning on Loki, she realized that she couldn't see.

Blind and broken, she wandered on through the forest, relying only on her sense of smell not to bump into trees. She didn't know where she was going, or what she was doing anymore – her feet seemed to be moving on their own accord, without the brain sending them orders. The century-old pines closed in over her head as night descended onto the Kallmanah forests.

* * *

From time to time, portals were created as the forest's enchanted pathways were twisted by powerful magical forces and ripped open into new dimensions. Kallmanah was like a border between different worlds; numerous pathways connected them, and if one were to stumble upon such a path, one would most likely end up… far away from home, in any case. That was also one of the causes responsible for the fact that few people that ventured into the forest were ever heard of again. Another cause was, of course, the giant man-eating vines.

* * *

Loki must've trodden onto one of such pathways. There was a slight shift in the atmosphere; the air was suddenly lighter and easier to inhale, there was less brushwood on the way and the wind blew a little differently. There were also strange lights and small electric currents sizzling at some point on the path, but the girl didn't notice those changes, and she didn't remember what it felt like at all afterwards. She was just hobbling mindlessly through the woods, on and on… 

…When suddenly she felt sunshine on her face. She winced slightly as the rays fell on her, but was too tired to give it too much thought. It must be morning, pondered the small part of her brain at the back of her head that, against all odds, was still functioning. And morning meant guards setting out to search for her again…

Water sloshed nearby in a clean, cheerful stream. Loki had felt its pleasant, humid scent from some way off. She moved aside the bushes and stumbled over towards it. The girl sunk her feet into the cool water and felt it rushing over her hot, bleeding flesh in refreshing waves. Loki moved on across the stream. It wasn't very deep: the deepest place was up to her knees, but Loki swayed and wobbled as the water hit her legs, for she was too weak to stand. There was a large rock on the riverbank, if that small stream could be considered a 'river'; Loki felt its damp, mossy smell and lumbered towards it through the lapping waves. Finally, she slumped over the rock and as exhaustion took its toll, lost her consciousness once again.

A black-haired boy was picking herbs some way off. He was standing up occasionally to walk over to a new clearing, where more herbs grew. Eventually, he made his way further up the stream. He moved aside the thickets and stepped out onto a sunlit glade. A large mossy rock came into view, with a battered-looking girl sprawled over it, apparently dead. Two birds were sitting on the girl's back, chirping and sunbathing. The boy stared at the scene for a while in surprise, taking in the picture. Then, interested, he approached the body…

**End Chapter! **Yaaay it's… Haku! xD Haku found the half-dead cyborg-werewolf. What's gonna happen next? Stay tuned for the next episode and find out! He-he-he…


	5. Refuge

**_Author's Note:_** Yesss finally! I got to the Haku and Zabuza part! xD Who-hoo I'm so proud of myself!! -beams- -gives self a pat on back- -can't reach- -falls over- Anyway, I really tried to keep Zabuza-san in character. Hope it works out! o.O

_**5. Refuge**_

Haku leaned over the body, to take a closer look at the girl. She was about thirteen, quite tall as far as the boy could see; and her hair was of a strange light dusty-brown colour that appeared white in the sunshine; or at least those patches of it that weren't spattered with blood and dirt. She wore filthy rags, torn and stained, and the body beneath them was bruised and beaten. Her hands and feet were shackled, and the skin beneath the shackles was red and raw. There were arrows sticking out of her back, her left hand and one of her ankles; the wounds around them were open and bleeding. And… what a strange thing, Haku noticed; the flesh around those arrows looked sort of… _melted_. He had never seen anything like that before.

The girl on the rock stirred slightly, and the two chirping birds sitting on her flew off in fright. Haku, who was about to prod the body gently with a finger, drew his hand away quickly. So she was still alive…

The girl's pale, bloodless lips moved.

"Wa… ter…" she rasped in a barely audible whisper.

"Um… er… one sec…" Haku bent over the spring and, cupping his hands, scooped up some crystalline water, which he then poured over the girl's face. She shivered as cold liquid made contact with her skin, her eyes snapping open at once. And then realization hit her as all of her senses rushed back to her in a wave of recollection. Loki sprang up sharply, suddenly feeling the presence of another person. Then, with a groan, she sunk back onto the riverbank. The pain was back in all its roaring fury. The girl wrapped her hands around her head and moaned. Haku, who had been given plenty of time to catch on to the current events, rushed over to kneel beside her. It was quite obvious where the problem lay. His fingers wrapped themselves around the arrow shaft in the girl's back.

If there ever was such a thing as the Least Pain-Causing Taker-Out of Sharp Objects from People's Flesh Award of the Year, Haku would definitely _not _be the winner of it. Hundreds of frightened birds eclipsed the sky as Loki's scream of anguish rang loud and clear across the silent morning woods.

* * *

Somewhere in the depths of the forest, Zabuza Momochi looked up from polishing his giant Cleaver. He examined the sky closely, frowned, and then went back to polishing the sword again. His muscles gleamed in the sun, the man's power radiating off them in waves that were almost visible. He spat onto the cloth and added the last finishing touches to the Cleaver's shining surface; and then leaned back to admire his work with the pride of an accomplished craftsman. 

There was the sound of bushes being pushed aside, and Haku appeared into view. He moved closer to the doorway of the abandoned shack, on the porch of which Zabuza was sitting. The man looked up, once again disturbed from his work.

"Sure took your sweet time, didn't y-- WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING WITH _THAT_?"

Haku had just been trying to haul a half-conscious Loki inside the shack without his master noticing, but failed miserably.

"You are _not_ dragging a bloody CORPSE into the bloody house!"

"But… Zabuza-san…" Haku decided to try the politely-clueless approach first.

"'Butt' is what you sit on, now take _this _and drag it back where you found it! And I don't want to hear another word about it!" Zabuza held up a hand as Haku opened his mouth to reply.

"Please, Zabuza-san, she's not really dead!" Haku made a few sideways steps towards the doorway of the shack as he spoke. "She's badly wounded, but I can take care of--"

"What? You mean you brought a _not really dead person _to our _hideout_?" Zabuza was almost beside himself with fury. "Haku, I thought you were supposed to be _clever_! Don't you understand that 'secret hideout' means that _nobody's supposed to know about it_???"

"Yes, but…" Haku was already in the process of slowly progressing towards the pile of branches dumped in the corner of the shack.

"We're on the run, remember? In _hiding_? How exactly can we hide from anyone if people know _where_ we're hiding?" Zabuza breathed out and sighed, seeing the boy's determined look. He'd learned a long time ago that yelling and death glares didn't have much effect on his apprentice. Maybe explaining things would help matters. "Look, it could all be a trap, understand? She could be a spy sent by the Hunter-Nin, and this whole spectacle could be a trick meant to track us down!"

Haku looked at the man, then back at the girl. She was half-slumped on his shoulder, and looked just about as threatening as a kitten after a rainstorm. Oh well, that was Zabuza-san being paranoid for you.

"And even if she's not," the man continued, glaring sideways at the battered body and realizing that his last statement was probably somewhat unlikely, "what do _you_ care about some sickly little weakling that couldn't even make it out on her own? So what if she's hurt? It's none of your business, _or_ mine. Just take her away from here and… and… and perform your hideous little experiments somewhere else. I don't want maggots breeding near the provisions."

Haku sighed, and lowered the girl onto the soft branches. He'd lived with Zabuza for long enough and knew the signs of a murderous assassin getting gradually convinced when he saw them. He just had to prod a bit further…

"Please, Master. I've been a faithful weapon to you all these years, have I not? I have helped you in your missions and I've killed many, but somehow… somehow… it just doesn't _feel _right. You know how I feel about taking lives away…"

Zabuza sighed. He knew all right. Haku never complained or ever said a word, but Momochi sure as hell knew that the boy mourned for every bloke whose neck he'd ever pierced with his senbon. Meanwhile, Haku continued:

"…And I thought that maybe once, just this once I could try to redeem myself and save a life instead of taking one. I could take care of her until she's well enough to survive on her own, and then…"

"And then…?" Zabuza folded his arms on his chest and scowled, managing to look even more severe than he usually did. He never liked melodramas, though he marvelled at his apprentice's speaking skills.

"Well, we were going to change our position anyway, weren't we?"

"Your point?"

"We could leave right away once the girl's better, so she wouldn't know that it was us who helped her. And I would feel much better as well, knowing that I've saved a life." The eleven-year-old glanced up at his master, waiting for the answer. Zabuza stared him down, then exhaled loudly.

"Tell ya what. How about I just take my Cleaver and put the brat out of her misery right now? It's quite clear that she isn't going to make it anyway, and I'm not about to waste my time looking after some bloody corpse." Receiving a _Look_ from Haku, he raised an eyebrow. "So it _was _for the hideous experiments, wasn't it?"

"No, Zabuza-san. Look, she can make it! And, sir, if I drag her out of this state, the knowledge and experience that I will gain might be very useful to us in the future! Think about it, sir!" The boy gave Zabuza an imploring gaze.

"So it _is _about hideous experiments," said Zabuza half to himself, half to the air and the wall behind Haku. He realized that for some reason it must've meant much for the boy, though he didn't quite understand why. People lived, people died… Who cared, really? Oh well, Haku _was_ a strange kid. But he was also faithful, and deserved a treat every once in a while. Fine, he could conduct his little experiments if he wanted it so much, just as long as their provisions weren't involved. The assassin was in a strangely good mood today anyway… Though he wasn't going to give in _that _easily.

"All right, all right, _fine_! You can keep that bloody corpse… But on one condition!" Zabuza made sure that a lot of gesturing and angry mimicry was involved in this. Haku stood to attention.

"First of all, you will do whatever you need to do _away from this room_. Got that?"

Haku nodded.

"Second, if she won't be getting better and the whole thing will be a waste of time and resources, she is dead, understand?"

"Quite obviously."

"I _mean_, I will come and finish her off with the Cleaver."

"Oh."

"Also, _if_ she gets better, and I'm not saying that she will, and goes around asking _questions_, she's dead, get it?"

Nod.

"And if tending to her will interfere with your training, she's dead!"

"Understandable."

"I will not tolerate this!"

"All right."

"You have five minutes to get her out of this room."

"Okay."

Haku watched his master fold his arms behind his back and walk out and towards the porch. At the doorway, however, Zabuza turned around.

"And one last thing for you to remember: I will _not_, and I repeat I _will not_, in any way, shape or form help you take care of that brat! Are we clear? And don't count on me to sit with her, wrap her wounds or whatever – I am not having anything to do with this whole thing, and it is entirely your responsibility! And if she gets in my way--"

"--She is dead. Yes, I understand, Zabuza-san." Haku would politely point out the fact that those were five conditions and not one, but this wasn't exactly the right time to discuss Zabuza's mathematical skills.

"Five minutes, remember!" called out the Jounin from the porch and went outside to do one-handed push-ups.

Haku looked at the girl. Her wounds were going to be a handful, but nothing he wouldn't be able to handle. Taking a deep breath in, he heaved her up into a half-standing position again and dragged the body into another room.

* * *

Haku had finished changing the girl's bandages and pressed a fresh wet towel to her forehead. He had to admit, the idea that he was saving somebody's life was making him feel a great deal calmer. In fact, he'd been feeling a _lot _calmer during the past two days, while he was taking care of the girl. Even the nightmares he'd been having ever since Zabuza's rebellion in the Village of Mist had failed and they had gone into hiding weren't bothering him as much anymore. Haku frowned a bit at the memory. They had done a lot of killing that day, and Haku didn't like killing. He had never been able to help a dying person before, either, even though he'd wanted to. Of course, there had been Zabuza-san's battle injuries, but this was _different_. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to… to… well, Haku didn't know. It just made the boy feel better, and took his mind off things. Sure would be nice to know that it'd all pay off… 

But first off, he would need to stock up on healing herbs. Haku came out of the shack and went past Zabuza, who was currently doing press-ups upside down, on one hand.

"How's the corpse doing?" called out Momochi in mock curiosity. "Did you implant any new livers or hearts or somethin' into it yet?"

"Nope," Haku replied simply. "But I think the girl's getting better! Her heart rate's stable now, in any case." He beamed at his mentor and disappeared behind the bushes.

"Break's over in ten minutes!" Zabuza called after the boy, heard a faint ''kay!' from behind the thickets and changed hands.

Nine minutes later, Haku reappeared with a handful of dark-green leaves and another handful of what looked like ordinary grass to the untrained eye, and disappeared inside the shack again. Zabuza stared after him, hanging upside down from a tree branch.

"One minute!" he yelled, still staring at the doorway, and sighed. Haku could sure get obsessive about his work. Oh well. Everybody needed hobbies.

* * *

Back on the other side of the portal, deep in the Kallmanah woods, the staff members of the Greyfang Mining Corp were fruitlessly searching for the runaway werewolf girl, dead or alive. After three days of unsuccessful attempts, however, they gave up and scratched her name off the ration lists. 

**End Chapter! **Loki is finally with the Mist nin. -thunderous voice- But will she survive??? -end thunderous voice- Hahaha, and Zabuza's gonna use the word 'bloody' a lot. Lol. And… oh yeah, I _did_ explain how the multidimensional forest worked earlier on, didn't I? Did I? Just making sure… o.O


	6. Battle

**_Author's Note: _**Chapter six! Loki comes to her senses and encounters the Mist Nin for the first time! This is the last chapter I have so far, but I will be writing more shortly. I don't know what to say except that I hope that you're enjoying this. I put a lot of effort into it, you know.

_**6. Battle**_

Loki winced as she felt sunlight penetrate her eyelids, and came out of whatever realms of oblivion her mind had been floating in with an unpleasant 'bump'. She was very surprised to discover that she was lying on a large pile of _something_, which later turned out to be a heap of willow branches covered with a rug. She was also surprised to find herself wrapped in a blanket. What…? Eyes glazing, Loki lay still for several minutes and tried to arrange her memories in the chronological order. She was clearly missing a key piece of the puzzle. How the heck did she end up… wherever she was?

A sudden thought struck her, and Loki bolted upright in her covers. As she did so, something moist and warm slipped off her forehead and fell into her lap. It was a wet towel. The girl stared at it for a while, then drew a hand from under the blanket and pressed a palm to her forehead. And then, with another jolt of surprise, she realized that her hand had been bandaged and the silver shackle was missing from her wrist. Loki examined the wrappings more closely, and then threw off her covers completely. She wasn't at all surprised to see more bandages. The only thing that was nagging at her, the only question was - who had done all this?

But before Loki could sort out any of her thoughts to come to possible conclusions, she smelled the scent of a human approaching. A moment later, a boy appeared in the empty gap of a doorway. He had long black hair, and looked about eleven-ish, perhaps younger. He was carrying a steaming bowlful of some herbal concoction, and clenched it tighter when he saw the girl staring at him from across the room. Otherwise, he seemed quite calm.

"Ah. You're awake," he said finally, managing to make it look like this was _exactly_ what he'd been expecting to find when he entered the room, though Loki's nose told her this was not the case. She kept watching him as he approached the bedside and put the bowl down on a broken piece of what must've once been furniture.

"Where am I?" asked Loki, getting straight to the point.

The boy seemed to have some trouble coming up with an answer.

"In a… forest?" he finally managed.

"Is this the reformatory?" the girl asked again, frowning slightly. She didn't really count that as a possibility, but she _had_ to make sure.

"Err… 'reformatory'? Um…"

Guess not, thought Loki. Good. She was eyeing the boy curiously in the meantime. She had never seen a human child before, and this one was really quite… small.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The boy kept a straight face, though according to his scent, his inner self was close to panicking. Threads of poisonous-green odour of nervousness pierced Loki's nose-vision.

"Please, not so loud!" he pleaded in a hushed voice, hoping that Loki would get the idea and lower her tone, too. "I… I can't… answer your questions. Please don't ask anything." He cast a sideways glance at the empty doorway.

"How long have I been here? Can you tell me that?" Loki just couldn't help herself.

"Oh… a week. Please don't ask anything else."

A whole week… A lot must've happened since then. Loki had never been sick for a whole week at a time before… well, that was what silver did to you. Loki took a whiff of the air. Her senses were still in a bit of confusion to fully take in the atmosphere, but they would get sorted out eventually. With a relief, the girl noticed that the fog from her vision had lifted and her eyesight was gradually returning.

Meanwhile, the boy began changing the bandages on her hand. Loki saw him examining the metal-rimmed holes between her knuckles, but he looked away when he noticed her watching him. The boy had noticed those holes before: there were three on each of her hands and two on each foot; but he just couldn't figure out what they could be for. One thing he came to know for sure, though, or at least strongly suspect, was that this wasn't any ordinary village girl.

After the bandages were changed, the boy took the moist towel from Loki's lap and folded it up. Then he prodded the steaming bowl carefully towards the girl.

"Drink this," he said.

Loki took the bowl and sniffed at it uncertainly. She could definitely sense water and a mixture of at least fifteen different herbs, but overall the concoction seemed safe to drink. She tasted it with her tongue, like a dog. It was quite delicious; and there was the hunger again, tugging timidly at the back of her mind. Tossing any self-consciousness aside, Loki gulped the whole bowlful of liquid down and wiped her mouth.

"Good stuff, this," she commented. The boy smiled softly.

Meanwhile, someone was shouting outside. Through a gap in the wall, the wind brought the scent of a male. It was a very _strong_ male scent, or rather the scent of a very strong male.

"Haku! Break's over, get you rear over here this instant!"

The boy glanced up, startled, almost dropping the bowl he'd picked up.

"Stay here," he told Loki, and rushed out of the room at an incredible speed. Loki was impressed. She had never thought a human could move so fast. Then her senses caught on, and remembering bits and pieces of her almost non-existing manners, Loki made to shout after him.

"Um… thank… you?"

But he was already out of earshot.

* * *

Haku and Zabuza began, or rather resumed their morning training. They started out with simple hand-to-hand-combat exercises. 

"So, how are your hideous little experiments going?" asked Zabuza, ducking to dodge a kunai into the shoulder. "It's been a week!"

"Oh… er, fine," answered Haku, blocking a blow to the stomach.

"Not so enthusiastic anymore, are we?" Zabuza was surprised. Usually, Haku eagerly began rambling on and on about the recent improvements whenever asked. "Why, is she _actually _getting better?"

Haku leaped up, and managed to land a punch into Zabuza's jaw. "No… not really. Well, sort of. It's not that she's _better_, but…" He grunted as Zabuza, in turn, caught him in the ribs.

Damn, she's actually getting _better_, thought the older ninja. Out loud, he said:

"Is she well enough to take care of herself so that we could leave already? I'm getting tired of this rudy place."

A kunai very nearly missed his ear.

"Um, er…" was all Haku could manage. He didn't want to lie to Zabuza-san, but the girl had come to her senses so… abruptly… He felt that she needed more treatment, but if Zabuza-san found out that she was well enough to be _asking questions_, goodness knew what would happen to the poor girl then. Haku sighed as he deflected three more heavy blows from his master's part. Too bad it had to be over so soon…

And out of the shadows cast by the trees near the shack, a figure watched the two fighting males closely, with a calculating look in its olive-green eyes.

* * *

Loki sat on her heap of willow branches, thinking about everything that's happened so far. She'd had such grand plans back at the Centre: to run away, to find her pack… But now that she actually _had _run away, she really didn't know what to do next. The wolf-girl was at a loss. It had seemed so damn easy at first; but in reality, she came to realize, she knew nothing about forests _or _her pack. Where should she start looking first? Where should she go? Loki didn't know. 

The werewolf got up from where she lay, and made a few uncertain steps towards the doorway. Her legs were still a bit shaky from being out of use for so long and wouldn't obey orders, so the girl paced a bit around the room to regain control over her muscles. Meanwhile, she could do what she called "gathering information". Loki wanted to find out more about her current whereabouts. She took a good whiff of the air around her, and soon all of the information she needed was laid out in front of her in a colourful map of scents. Well, well, well. So, there were two humans currently inhabiting this place; the boy that took care of her and the man that had called him away earlier. Apparently they were warriors, because she could sense the sharp, metallic scents of weapons and a faint, reddish scent of other humans' dried blood. This was interesting… Loki never thought that humans could become warriors. She had always been sure that this was because they lacked the physique, but this man's scent told her otherwise.

There was also a lot of nervousness in the atmosphere; she could tell that by the streaks of poisonous-green that pierced the shack's aroma cloud in thin threads. But that was all that Loki could make out so far, because there were just too many things interfering with the odours she was looking for. One of the shack's walls was almost completely destroyed, and occasional gusts of wind brought in the scents of the forest along with the battlecries of the two males training outside. Loki stepped over the gap and into the shadows of the trees to get a better view. She thought about it. She had no place to go to; and besides, there was a great chance that she might round back to the reformatory by mistake because she didn't know her way around. She wouldn't know how to act if she encountered other humans, either. Loki bit her thumb as she watched. These two people took her in, took care of her wounds and apparently had no intention of giving her back to the reformatory. They were also warriors, meaning that they made their living by fighting. Well, Loki could fight, too. She would also need some guides to show her around, at least for a short period of time while she adapted to the new environment.

Loki watched the two males from out of the shadows with a calculating look; and then, making up her mind, began to move slowly towards the ninja.

* * *

Haku and Zabuza were in the heat of the battle, their hands and legs a blur as each one tried to find an opening in his opponent's defence. They were so engulfed in fighting that they didn't notice Loki approach them and watch the training from up close. 

It was Zabuza who spotted her first, and was almost sent flying by another powerful punch in the jaw when Haku, too, saw the girl. There was a moment's awkward silence as the two ninja stopped and stared and got stared back at. It was Loki who broke the silence first.

"Uh… uh… so… I'm staying, right?" she asked, not quite sure how to start but deciding to get to the point straight away.

"Wha…?" said Zabuza, staring at the skinny girl in front of him in surprise, and Haku blinked.

There was another awkward silence. A breeze swept some forlorn leaves across the glade as everybody's minds comprehended the new information. It was Haku's brain that won the race. He leaped in front of the girl, facing his master.

"No, Zabuza-san, please, you mustn't!" he begged, knowing what was coming, and then turned towards Loki. "Run, girl!"

But Loki didn't even think of running. She shivered slightly under the breeze; the girl had nothing on but a towel wrapped tightly around her groin and the bandages covering the upper parts of her body. She was still pale and worn out from her earlier adventures, and didn't look at all warrior-like. Nevertheless, she decided to take her chances.

"Can't I stay with you? You're some kind of warriors, right? Well, I can fight, too," she tried rather awkwardly.

Zabuza was the last one to come to his senses.

"Haku?" he began in a quiet, dangerous voice. "What did I say would happen if you didn't follow my conditions?"

Loki could sense the boy's panic through his mask of forced calm.

"So, can I stay...?" she tried again, scanning her mind desperately for any convincing arguments.

"You idiot! Of _course_ you can't stay!" exploded the assassin, turning to the girl. "What is this, some kind of a kiddy-garden? I'm giving you three minutes while I'm getting my Cleaver, and if by that time you're not out of my sight-- "

Loki didn't budge. Haku raised his arm to give her a push, but she caught his hand before it hit.

"I just want to stay with you and fight," she repeated stubbornly. "I can fight, I'll prove to you that I can--"

Zabuza lifted his giant sword and tossed it lightly into the other hand. Then he glanced at Haku's determined face and sighed.

"Beat it, girl," he said at last, forcing himself to stay calm. "My apprentice here worked his butt off to get you out of the mess you were in, so all right, all right, I'll let you go. I'm feeling generous today, I guess. Go back to your village or wherever you come from and forget that this ever happened. You haven't seen _anything_, got that? Or I'll hunt you down and cut your throat. You have three minutes starting now. Now go!"

Loki still didn't move. "I have nowhere to go," she said simply. "And wouldn't it be so much easier to keep the secret if you just let me stay?"

"Just go, girl!" cried Haku. Loki ignored him. Instead, she took a confident step towards the assassin.

"I'm challenging you to a battle!" she shouted, outstretching a hand. "Err… right here, right now!" she added as an afterthought. She'd heard it somewhere before, though she couldn't quite remember where. It was like some kind of an activating key-phrase for humans, Loki figured, like the switches that operated the battle machines back at the Centre. It was what made them fight you. She just hoped she got all the words right.

It was indeed like an activating battle-switch; or rather like a lit match dropped into a crate of explosives. The thin strand holding Zabuza's patience together broke with a snap, and his anger exploded in a long string of curses. He had no time for this idiocy. He swung his Cleaver. He had given her enough time to escape; but now he was going to give her a taste of his downright fury, and it was her own damn fault for not getting away in time!

But suddenly, Zabuza got a better idea. He stopped cursing and lowered his sword. The man was aware of Haku eyeing his moves suspiciously, but he ignored that.

"A challenge, huh? Think you're so tough? Well, tell ya what, girlie. Why don't you fight… say, Haku over here, and I'll sit over there and watch. He's a good chap, as strong as they get. If you win, you may stay with us. But if you lose, my Cleaver here will make sure you don't go _anywhere _anymore, except maybe to Heaven, heh." A grin spread across Zabuza's bandage-wrapped face. "So, do we have a deal?"

"What??" cried Haku and Loki in unison.

"You can't do that, master!" protested Haku. "I won't fight her!"

Loki looked at the boy. He'd saved her life, the girl knew; and although she was never taught enough manners to feel gratitude, she realized that killing him like an enemy would be wrong. Besides, he looked kind of scrawny. She was completely unprepared for such an outcome.

"You heard me," said Zabuza, sitting down in the shadow of a nearby tree and getting comfortable. "Your time to escape is up, girlie. Now either you battle my student, or it's down for the count with you." It's down for the count with her anyway, he thought, wrapping his fingers around the Cleaver's handle.

Loki and Haku looked at each other. There was no other alternative, was there. Zabuza was watching them like a hawk watched its prey.

"All right," growled Loki.

The boy sighed. If he refused to fight her, Zabuza would kill her right away. But if he accepted, then a slim chance of saving her still remained.

"And no going easy on her!" the man yelled from under the tree, smirking, and watched his apprentice get into a battle stance. Haku frowned.

"What's your name?" he asked the girl.

"Loki," she answered.

"I'm very sorry about this, Loki," said the boy, a senbon of ice materializing in his hand, and leaped.

He was moving with an incredible speed, but Loki was prepared for the hit. The werewolf deflected his senbon and grabbed his wrist in one smooth movement. Then she butted him into the nose with her forehead, and pushed him away. The boy fell to the ground. He was obviously trying to go easy on her.

"Don't worry, I'm a better fighter than you think," said Loki.

Haku was grunting on the ground. "All right," he managed, and then unwound like a spring, with an amazing agility. He had a kunai in his hand now, and this time he struck with much more force. Once again, Loki blocked the hit.

It went on for quite some time. They rotated around the clearing, Haku attacking and Loki defending herself. Loki was trying to avoid using her metal claws. She jumped up to dodge a kick, and finally managed to get through Haku's own defence and land a punch in his chest, once again sending him flying. He was still holding back, she knew it. This was beginning to get on her nerves. She would not be underestimated by a human!

Haku got up from the ground and wiped away some blood from his lips. This girl was pretty tough, he saw. He noticed her sullen expression and smiled, guessing her thoughts. All right, he could take it to a _new _level, if she wanted it so bad.

For a moment, Haku just stood still; and then, in a blur of movement, he vanished. Loki blinked in astonishment. What? Where did he go?

Suddenly, her senses were screaming in alarm as the air behind her imploded in a complicated web of human scents. Loki smelled Haku reappear behind her back just in time to land another punch in his stoma-- oh no, _not_ in time. Her fist was grabbed and her arm was twisted backwards, and Haku himself landed his infamous kick in the jaw that had worked so many times on his mentor. This time, it was Loki who got sent sprawling onto the grass. All right, she thought. _Now_ he's getting to the point.

She got up, her jaw healing right away, to find that Haku was gone once again. The instant she was on her feet, however, she felt the web of scents reappearing again. Oh no, not again, he won't. Loki leaped out of the way with an incredible agility of her own. For just one moment she clearly saw Haku's back before he became a blur again, but that was enough. She'd gotten a hold of his scent, and she knew exactly where he'd go. The wolf-girl pounced, and they both went tumbling onto the grass. When they came to a stop, Loki was sitting on top of the boy, pinning his arms to the ground.

"You're pretty good," he said, smiling. She felt his hands move, but didn't pay this too much attention. Poor little human, struggling to get free…

But a strange new scent suddenly reached her nose. Loki sniffed the air. It felt like rain… a very _sharp, _very _needle-like_ sort of rain…

"A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

…And Loki's world exploded in a powerful blast of pain as her whole body was struck by Haku's remarkable water Jutsu. She fell away onto the ground, coughing up blood. Meanwhile, Haku scrambled up to his feet, his expression a mixture of sorrow and unease.

But that was water, not silver. The girl lay on the grass as she felt a soft tingling feeling start up in her flesh; and her wounds healed themselves instantly. In a few moments she was up again, smirking at the boy's astonished look.

Under the tree, Zabuza spat out the grass blade he'd been chewing on in disbelief. He was _certain _that he just saw Haku use his Thousand Water Needle Jutsu, and he was _absolutely positive_ that he'd seen the needles strike the girl. But there she was, standing again, right as rain, as though nothing had just happened. Nobody could get up as fast as she did after such an attack, _nobody_! Surely it was just a trick of light… He sat up a bit straighter, focusing more attention on the battle.

Meanwhile on the battlefield, Haku could only stand and gawp.

"H… How… How did you _do_ that?" the boy managed.

She's no amateur, he thought. This was getting more interesting by the minute. What he thought would be a bloody massacre was becoming a real combat. Perhaps he could give this his best, after all.

He took a firm stance and made a sign with his hands. There was that one Jutsu he'd been practicing… He wasn't very good at it yet, but Zabuza had assured him it was going to be a very powerful move someday. It was his best invention so far, and here was the perfect opportunity for him to practice it on a real-life target.

Loki watched him curiously. She'd never seen anyone fight like this before. The training machines had barely given her enough time to react; and this human child was just standing there, waving his hands. She didn't know what he was trying to do, but if that was supposed to be hurting her, he would be sadly disappointed. Loki leaped up to the ninja and swung a fist. This whole gesturing thing was beginning to annoy her. Why couldn't he fight like normal people?

Haku jumped out of the way of Loki's punch and landed gracefully not very far from the girl. With a final gesture of his hands, he performed the last seal in summoning his deadliest attack yet - the Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals.

Zabuza was watching this with interest. Overall the girlie was pretty good, he had to admit. But the Ice Mirrors would be too much for her to cope with, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, Loki had sensed that something very wrong was going on. There was that sharp water scent again… And that kid was just standing there, looking at her, like a scientist conducting an experiment. Why wasn't he attacking? She didn't get this kind of battle, and what she didn't get annoyed her. At the moment, anyway.

In a couple of leaps, the wolf-girl approached Haku, then swiftly shifted behind his back. Haku turned just as quickly and met her attacking hand with a kunai.

"Good bye," he said.

And then she saw them. They were crystal mirrors, giant hulks of ice suspended in mid-air. They surrounded her all around in an eerie hemisphere of the sharp water scent as she stared at them in awe. And when she looked back at the boy, he wasn't there anymore.

"Over here!" called a voice from out of a mirror, and dozens of echoes from all around the wolf-girl answered the call, "Over here, over here, over here…"

This was worse than the toughest of the machines. The scents were so strong and confusing, and the boy's own scent… It was like he was _nowhere_ and _everywhere_ at the _same time_. In every mirror there was an image of him, smiling down at her as she turned her head this way and that. And then…

…a hundred senbon pierced the air in unison, flying towards Loki at an incredible speed. She gawped at them. Something stirred in her mind, a memory… A hundred pellets of silver rushing towards her, a hail of silver-tipped arrows…

She had been thinking for a moment too long. One second, and she was once again lying sprawled over the ground, the needles sticking out of her body making her look like a giant, human-shaped hedgehog. She didn't protect herself in surprise, nor did she block any needles. Any normal human would already be dead, Haku presumed, but he kept watching tensely. This wasn't over yet.

And surely enough, in a few minutes Loki rose from the ground and shook herself like a dog shaking off water. The senbon glinted in the sunlight as they shot back in all directions. And once again, the girl's wounds were miraculously healed. Haku watched closely and wondered whether she was a Kekkei Genkai user. Whatever it was, it surely was remarkable.

Loki was breathing hard. She was hungry, and still shaken from the silver arrows… and hungry! This battle was taking a lot out of her. She wasn't prepared for such a strain, but she knew she couldn't lose. It would be kind of sad to die right after she'd escaped the Centre and survived the silver arrows. All right then, this left her with no choice.

_Sliiinnnng!_ The metal claws in her hands were out and ready for action. From the height of his mirrors, Haku observed. So _that's_ what the iron-rimmed holes between her knuckles were for! He figured as much. But they won't be much use for her here, because it was time for his _special_ move.

Haku's speed was truly amazing. Sunlight itself would seem slow by comparison and crawl away to hide in shame in some dark little hole. The boy sped past Loki, under her feet and over her head, from mirror to mirror and so fast that she could barely see him move. She was sure that there was only one of him, because there was only one scent trailing after him in a much slower motion, but this knowledge did little to help her. He struck her with the kunai over and over, faster than she could react, even faster than her wounds healed. At this rate, she'd get worn out soon and even her regenerating ability wouldn't save her.

And then, Loki had an idea. By this time, she was already over her first surprise and had gotten pretty used to the boy's little tricks. She could ignore the pain and the blood and act. There was only one way to beat this.

Loki retracted the claws from her left hand, and reached for her nose. The nose-filters were still there, two tiny skin-tinted metal cylinders attached to the sides of her nostrils. Once removed, they let her sense of smell magnify a thousand-fold, allowing her to see much further than any human could ever imagine…

And there it was again, the web of scents; only much more detailed, intricate and complicated than it had been a minute ago. Loki could _see_ in detail every move the boy had made leaping to and fro, and every emotion he had felt while doing so. In a second she had learned what the ice mirrors were, how many weapons he had on himself, what he'd had for dinner last night and all that other miscellaneous information that the scents usually told. But Loki didn't need all that. She only needed one particular scent. The girl singled it out from the rest, like a single thread from a tangled knot of many other threads of all sizes and colours, and focused on it. Focused hard, with all the energy she had. If she could only analyze to where it possibly led…

In her eyes, Haku was suddenly moving in slow motion; which was very odd, because to Haku _Loki_ appeared to be moving in slow motion. However, to Zabuza under his tree they had _both_ been moving so fast that he had lost track of the battle a long time ago. He was just sitting there, trying to catch up on the events and figuring that Haku was probably already winning anyway, when suddenly…

…_Gasp_…

…two of the mirrors exploded into splinters and shards of ragged ice as a very bloody girl flew out of the hemisphere, waving a bunch of long, sword-like blades in front of her face, and fell to the ground, breathing hard.

…Five minutes before that, Loki had finished analyzing the scent she had focused on. Instantaneously, she calculated the direction of Haku's movement in her head, judging by the chemical reactions in his blood and brain where he was heading for next. And then, imitating his light-fast speed, she swung her clawed right hand through the air. Haku, who was already too close to dodge the incoming surprise-attack, tried to duck awkwardly but failed; and was sent to the ground with three deep scratches in his back.

Immediately, the other Hakus in the mirrors vanished, and the hail of senbon ceased. But Loki had little time to spare. She was already out of breath and her healing had a lot of catching up to do; but she had strength enough for one final move. She braced herself, and then leaped into the air at a running start, swinging her claws once again with every ounce of strength she could muster. Teeth gritted, the girl brought them down just as the boy on the ground rose to his feet. Metal collided with ice, and…

…two of the mirrors exploded into splinters and shards of ragged ice as a very bloody Loki flew out of the hemisphere, waving a bunch of long, sword-like blades in front of her face, and fell to the ground, breathing hard. That was it, she knew. Loki had spent the last of her strength on that move. For the next five minutes, she wouldn't be able to move a muscle. And if that boy could still stand or move, she didn't hold a candle to him.

A moment later the rest of the Ice Mirrors shattered and melted away, revealing a very shaken-looking Haku. Summoning this Jutsu took a lot out of him, and his energy levels were down as well. The boy was panting, and his back was bleeding. He made a few tentative steps towards Loki and looked up to smile at Zabuza, who was staring at the scene open-mouthed. Then, the boy's legs folded under him and, with a gentle sigh, he fell down beside the girl.

"That was… a good battle…" he whispered to Loki.

"Yeah…" was all she could reply.

Zabuza got up from under his tree and walked over to the kids lying motionless on the grass. He kneeled down beside Haku and examined the boy's wounds. That would leave a few scars, he thought to himself. The man had some bandages on him, which he used to wrap Haku's wounds to stop the bleeding. They would need a more careful tending to, but first there was the matter of this girl to deal with. Zabuza got up and, in turn, approached her.

Haku raised his head from the ground.

"Zabuza-san… It was a tie…" he mouthed.

"Lie down, boy," replied the Jounin grumpily, and prodded Loki with the tip of his boot. He had to admit, he hadn't expected such an outcome. She had bloody amazing skills, the ninja reflected, and she actually _wanted_ to join his little group. It would be folly to kill her off when she could make such a powerful tool for his schemes… Well, he had already had Haku at his disposition, but two weapons were always better than one. Though it was still a suspiciously convenient business, he mused, but he could get to the bottom of this afterwards. There would always be time to kill her later in case something happened.

"A tie, huh?" Zabuza grumbled, still prodding the girl. "Well, get up, _warrior_."

Loki rolled over in the grass and scrambled up into a crouching position. Her wounds were already almost completely healed, as usual.

"I didn't win," she mumbled. "You're going to kill me, aren't you."

"It was a tie, you idiot, didn't you hear?" snarled Zabuza. He was still unsure about his decision, but he decided to give it a shot. He was always prepared to risk it all. "We didn't have any agreements on what would happen in case of a tie, but I guess you can stay after all. Hmph." He put on a death scowl as the girl gazed up at him hopefully.

"But there is one thing you'll have to remember," the nin raised his voice as Loki got up and shook off some dirt. She stopped at once and stood to attention. "From now on, you will be my tool. You will obey my every command and dedicate your life to my service. You will kill whom I tell you to kill and you'll belong to me; flesh, soul, blood and abilities an' all. If you want to stay, these are the conditions."

Zabuza stared at the girl inquiringly. She gazed back, a breeze sweeping over her face. Oh, why not, she thought. She had been somebody's weapon her entire life, after all. It didn't really make any difference to her now, especially since she _wanted _to stay and had figured that something of that sort was probably going to happen. Besides, what better chance would she ever get of looking for her lost pack?

"I agree to your conditions," she said at last. "I am your weapon now."

**End Chapter!** Dun-dun… And so, Loki became a part of Zabuza-san's squad, lucky her. Too bad poor Haku-san had to get hurt T.T Nooo Haku-san, waaaah!

Well, that's all I have so far. A lot, yes. Should I continue?


	7. Introductions

**_Author's Note:_** Thanks for the reviews, guys! You're awesome. You made me feel so flattered, and inspired me to continue my work… Please keep reading! xP Anyway, I've finally finished the seventh chappie! XD Sorry for not updating. T.T Had an impassable mountain of homework to get through… o.O But I've found some time and finally finished this… This chapter is mostly about Loki getting to know Haku and Zabuza, and their reactions to each other. And… Well, read on and find out.

_**7. Introductions**_

A chilly evening breeze swept over the glade, and a faraway bird broke the silence of the dusk with a melodious chirrup. The bonfire crackled as Zabuza threw some more twigs into it. Haku was sitting beside him with a bowl of hot stew, his wounds taken care of and re-bandaged tightly. Loki was crouching a bit further off on the opposite side of the bonfire, concealed in deep shadows. She had a bowl of stew as well, and was currently sipping the hot liquid slowly. The girl felt a bit awkward, eating in front of two humans like that. She was aware of the older nin watching her closely, and got even more uncomfortable.

"Would you mind honouring us by sitting where I can see you?" asked Zabuza grumpily. "You're on my team now, and I'd like to know exactly what I've picked up."

After a moment's hesitation, Loki moved out into the firelight. She was wearing one of Haku's blue kimonos over her bandages, but it barely fit her. She was too worn out to even take a proper bath; her hair was still messed up and filthy from the battle, and she was aware of brownish spots of dried blood all over her face and arms. Overall, she looked like a very beaten street beggar. Nobody seemed to mind, though.

"You were so eager to join us before one would think you'd jump at the opportunity to spill your life story to us," Zabuza continued, "and now you're shying away in the shadows. Bloody hell, you're even stranger than Haku!"

Loki said nothing and cast a sideways glance at the boy, who didn't seem to notice the man's remark at all. _They _were the ones who were strange. She'd never seen humans act this way. They were treating her like their equal, letting her eat with them and lending her their clothes… There were so many new things she didn't yet understand. Good thing her nose-filters were back in place, blocking out most of the scents so that she could concentrate on other concepts.

There was another couple of minutes of silence, and Loki used this pause to take a closer look at the people that had taken her in. She had been too preoccupied with other pressing matters before, like satisfying her hunger, to examine them properly; but finally the bowl was put aside, and Loki glanced across the bonfire at the other two. The man whom she now had to call Zabuza-san was tall and powerfully built, and had a cold glint in his brown eyes. The young boy, however, looked much humbler and much nicer. But both of them couldn't differ more from the image of typical 'human beings' that the wolf-girl had had in her mind for as long as she could remember.

Loki was just reflecting on the strangeness of humanity when she suddenly became aware of an expectant silence from Zabuza's end of the bonfire and realized that she must've been asked a question.

"I _said_, are you a Kekkei Genkai user?" the man repeated.

"A what-user?" Loki was sure she had misunderstood.

"Do you have a Bloodline Limit? It's a special trait; a battling ability, you could say, passed down from generation to generation in your family," explained Haku, joining in on the conversation. "Your regenerating ability was remarkable. I haven't seen anybody with such a skill yet. What clan do you belong to?"

"Clan?" That struck a cord. "I… don't know…" Loki replied shakily. She had no idea what the other two were talking about. Could they possibly know something about her pack, or a pack like hers?

"So, you're an orphan. Figures…" Zabuza drew the conclusion. He had a knack, it seemed, at picking up dying orphans with incredible abilities. One more orphan, in fact, and he could start his own little Genin team.

He looked at the crouching pale form in front of him, and suddenly remembered his earlier suspicions. The girl seemed pretty quiet so far, but he was determined to extract more information. If this girl truly _was _a Kekkei Genkai user, then it might at least explain the fact that Haku had found her in a forest half-dead. Many ordinary people that weren't ninja _despised _those with Bloodline Limits, and would stop at nothing to eliminate them. Loki could be such an unfortunate one. But then, why didn't she just use her regenerating ability to heal her wounds herself? What had she been playing at?

"So… what village are you from?" asked the assassin.

"Err…" Loki didn't know what to answer to that. Village? Hadn't they caught on to the fact that she was a _werewolf_, and couldn't have come from a village?

Hold on a sec. If they didn't know that she was a werewolf, then they thought she was a human, right? Loki straightened up a bit at the thought. Her, a human? What an interesting idea… If they didn't recognize her for what she was… She reflected on this. In her blind blunder through the forest, could she have possibly entered some different place? A foreign country, perhaps, where nobody knew how to tell a werewolf from a human…? What if… _everybody_ here thought that she was a human? Then she could… Ah, she could almost see all the possibilities!

"Hey! Would you quit spacing out already? I asked you a question here!!" snapped Zabuza.

"Eh? Oh, er… I'm not quite sure I remember what village I'm from… It's all a bit hazy in my mind…" Loki tried making it up as she went along. If they really _did_ think she was human, she didn't want to discourage the thought.

"Yeah, right." Zabuza rolled his eyes and tossed another twig into the flames, making the bonfire flare up for a second. She sure wasn't the talkative kind, but it was all right. They had plenty of time ahead of them; he'd get to the bottom of this eventually.

"Your metal blade... things... were also very interesting," said Haku.

"What, these?"

The two ninja flinched very barely as Loki's hand formed a fist and the claws shot out with a sudden, sharp sound over the bonfire.

"Oh, I wasn't _born_ with those, if _that's_ what you mean. They were… built in… sort of. They can cut _anything_ if the right force is applied, heh." Loki grinned. She didn't know why, but she had a sudden urge to show off.

"Oh?" Haku seemed genuinely interested. Zabuza's scowl became only a little less intense. _That_ got her talking. "But don't they cut your skin, then?"

"Oh no, their sides are quite blunt when I'm not doing anything with them. They are made in a way so that they are only sharp when I fight and apply force, like _this_!"

Loki leaped to her feet and swung her arm. There was a slash, and a nearby tree came plummeting down through the descending darkness with a thundering crash. A flock of birds took off into the twilight with an annoyed twittering, awakened from their peaceful sleep. Zabuza jumped up, almost overturning his bowl of stew.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, now! You don't want to attract anyone's attention!" he barked.

"Sorry," said Loki softly, blushing, and retracted her claws.

They took their places around the bonfire once again and sat quietly for a while. Loki could see that the two males seemed to be listening, as if trying to hear something.

"What's going on?" she asked in a hushed voice. The two ninja looked at her for a moment, as though considering whether to fill her in, then turned to each other. A wordless conversation went on between them for some time, involving glares, _looks_ and other facial mimicry, which Loki found confusing and was unable to follow. After a while, however, Haku turned to the girl and spoke, Zabuza watching her closely.

"There are men after Zabuza-san and me. These… warriors are called the Hunter-nin, and they seek to destroy us and anybody who is associated with us, meaning that you, Loki, are now also in danger, since you chose to join our group."

Haku spoke slowly and gravely. Loki was aware of the two males, especially the older one, watching her with the calculating looks of gamblers around a poker table. It seemed like a kind of a test – some sort of reaction or exclamation was clearly expected from her. Instead, the girl's hand went up to her face, and her nose-filters were taken off. The colourful web of scents at once reappeared to her eyes, and Loki joyfully took in countless aromas of the quiet forest. It was all very refreshing; however, Loki had no time to enjoy the soothing fragrances right now. She blocked out the unnecessary information, and concentrated her nasal vision on finding the _right_ scent.

"There's nobody around," she announced after a while, replacing her filters. "I did sense the scents of some people a long way off, but they had passed a couple of days ago, and weren't warriors in any case."

Zabuza gave her a blank stare.

"You aren't telling me that smelling out people for miles and miles around is another one of your specialties, now are you?" he demanded.

"Er… yeah! It's one of them… whatyoucall'ems?" she grinned nervously.

"Kekkei Genkai…" Zabuza rubbed his chin. Well, well, so he hit the jackpot with this one as well. What will the next orphan they'd come across be able to do, he wondered... Fly? Spit fireballs? Crush mountains? What were the chances of him assembling a whole army of loyal orphans with extraordinary abilities…? He should keep his eyes peeled, in any case.

The bonfire crackled merrily as more twigs were tossed into it. Its amber glow only slightly diffused the gradually condensing darkness around the three outcasts. Night swept over the silent forest; and a lone wolf howled forlornly in the distance.

* * *

That night, Loki lay curled up on her pile of willow twigs and made plans for the future. She could hear the others' even breathing and knew that they were asleep. The girl wondered what she should tell them if they decided to prod further the question of her origins. Her knowledge of human life-style was very limited, and Loki was afraid that they might ask her something that would be obvious to a real village-dweller, but which she would have no way of answering. This would surely rouse more awkward questions, and Loki couldn't afford that if she wanted to keep her true identity secret. 

There was another matter that she didn't give much thought to before, but which was bothering her now that she came to think about it. A half-moon was shining through a gap in the wall, casting a ghostly shimmer on the girl's slightly frowning face. The full moon was approaching, and she knew very well what _that _meant. She'd be found out for sure… unless she hid out. Yeah, she could sneak away at night, the girl reflected; just before the moon rose, and transform somewhere further away. But could she really do it for three days in a row each month without the humans noticing?

Well, she could try, at least. If it didn't work and they found out the truth, she could always run away and live by herself. Not an ideal option, of course, but Loki couldn't afford to take the chance of being given back to the Centre.

* * *

It was decided that Haku was still too hurt to train on the next day, so Zabuza settled on testing the new girl's powers a little more thoroughly instead. It was one thing watching her fight from a distance, and a completely different matter to examine her abilities close up in an actual battle. 

They started out as Zabuza always did when training Haku – with hand-to-hand combat. There was a battle stance, as usual, and then they were off. The Jounin punched and kicked, but Loki deflected all of his attacks with an almost effortless agility. All of her own strikes, however, were also blocked. Zabuza wasn't very impressed by this performance. After dodging another one of the girl's unsuccessful kicks, he smirked nastily:

"Is that what you call 'battling'? Why, you seemed a lot more impressive yesterday. Don't make me regret allowing your stay."

Loki scowled. She just didn't want him to get hurt, but if that was what he wished…

_Sliiiing!_ The girl was fast, but the ninja, of course, was much faster; and the metal blades found themselves locked against a kunai. Loki growled and pushed on, intending to slice the puny piece of metal in half, but Zabuza held his ground. Not even a crack broke the smoothness of the dark, gleaming surface of the kunai.

"Sheer force won't help you here," sneered the ninja, and the girl went tumbling onto the ground as he rammed her away.

"You've got strength, I'll give you that much," Zabuza came to loom over a sprawling Loki. "I might even go as far as saying that you have some skill as well. But in order to live up to _my_ expectations, you've got to work much, _much_ harder than _that_."

Loki rolled away as the kunai struck the place where a moment ago her head had been. She was still unused to the concept of fighting humans. She remembered well her attacks on people in the Centre, but that was _different_. Loki had been angry then, she hadn't had any control over herself. The fight with Haku had been different, too. The girl's entire future depended on the outcome. Now, however, when her mind wasn't obscured by craziness or the need to survive, she had to struggle to overcome the barriers set in her mind by the scientists.

All right. All she needed was focus, just like yesterday. Loki just needed to imagine that Zabuza was a machine, and it would all go smoothly. But imagining that wasn't as easy as it seemed, with his human scent floating all around. Loki retreated, leaping up onto a tree-branch and out of reach. Below her, the assassin was still sneering.

"Tell ya what, girlie? Why don't we make this _fun_? You seem to be doing a great deal better when the odds are against you, like that last time, isn't that right?"

Loki stared. Zabuza concentrated and began making signs with both hands. Not the gesturing _again_, thought the wolf-girl. She sniffed the air around her, preparing herself for the needle-rain. But it didn't come. Instead, a heavy mist enveloped the man, the glade, and the trees all around; a fog so thick that Loki could barely see her own hand if she'd outstretched it. She was unpleasantly reminded of her vision loss after she'd escaped the reformatory.

Zabuza wasn't really happy about wasting his techniques on an amateur, but he really wanted to get the girl to use her powers. She had a lot of strength, though for some reason she was restraining from using it in hand-to-hand. He was also aware that she'd said she had a good sense of smell, and he wanted to check whether the girl had been lying or not.

Meanwhile, Loki pocketed her nose-filters and took in the surrounding atmosphere. The air was heavy with condensed water, and all other scents seemed stifled and faint by comparison. She knew Zabuza was there, but it was difficult to pinpoint his exact position. All that _moisture_…

A shape leaped at her from out of the grey obscurity. Loki slashed at it, but missed. In the next moment, she found her right arm being twisted behind her back. The wolf-girl half-turned to catch a glimpse of a very pleased-looking Zabuza. She gasped. 'What has he done to himself?' she wondered. She couldn't smell his scent at all. Well, there was _a_ scent, but it wasn't that odour of a powerful human male she'd come to associate the man with. Instead, all she could smell was water. Oh well, that made matters so much easier, she supposed.

Her hesitation cost her, however. The girl felt a kunai being pressed against her throat, and a coarse voice said by her ear,

"If you're going to keep up this pitiful performance, I'll throw you out of the team. That's a promi--"

His voice was cut off as Loki whirled around with an incredible force and sunk her claws into his side. She expected to see blood, but instead heard a slosh of water being spilled onto the earth and witnessed Zabuza become a shapeless form of liquid just a second before the apparition hit the ground. Loki stared. He could transform into… water?

All right, enough surprises. Loki had seen enough. A good whiff of the air, and all of the man's tricks and secrets would become an open book to her. The girl sniffed. A-_ha_!

She jumped out of the way as another one of the water-shapes appeared out of the mist, and sliced that one in half as well. She had to keep moving, the girl knew, so that she would be harder to track. On the other hand, she also knew that now that she'd gotten a hold of Zabuza's real scent and focused on it, _he_'d be _much_ easier to track. Loki would've done that precise thing a long time ago if she hadn't been too busy being confused; but who could blame her? Too many sudden changes in a short period of time would make _anyone_ confused.

Zabuza kept shifting position, but it was only a short while before Loki caught up. She struck from the back, giving the man little time to think. Loki used her fist, not her claws this time, but the blow was powerful enough to stun the man for a second. That wasn't enough, however. Her second punch was blocked, and her hand was gripped tightly.

"Caught on to my tactic, have you?" growled Zabuza, leering. "Not bad, not bad."

He punched her, hoping to send her flying, but Loki stood her ground. The thirteen-year-old warrior realized that to win this, she would have to use her true power, her _werewolf _power. She was aware that she risked the chance of being found out, but she'd try her best.

Zabuza punched her again, turning her around and preparing his final blow. Here it came…

Suddenly, he felt two blades of metal sinking into his flesh. Zabuza held back the instinctive yelp of pain and stared down in mild surprise. There were two bleeding gushes running up his leg, where a minute ago Loki had slashed him with the claws on her foot. He groaned and twisted her arm.

Grunting with effort, Loki pushed back with all the strength she could muster. Zabuza wasn't really expecting that, and they both went tumbling onto the grass. Loki could feel herself _changing_. Her nails became claws, and her eyes narrowed and glowed as the wolf-feeling began to awaken. The assassin, however, was too busy defending himself from her punches to notice. Finally, they came to a stop, Loki pinning the man down to the ground. She was panting, teeth barred in a wolf-like fashion, trying hard to regain control over herself. Then, in one sharp movement, she swung her clawed arm and brought it down, the blades stopping a mere fraction of an inch from Zabuza's temple. The man didn't give as much as a flinch.

"This is where I kill you," said Loki. "Or I would, if we were enemies, that is," she corrected herself.

They stayed, or rather sat like that for a while, staring at each other, sunlight glinting innocently on the metal of Loki's claws through the dispersing mist.

"Very well," grimaced Zabuza, his eye twitching slightly as the pain in his leg reminded him of his wounds.

"So, have I won?" the girl pressed on. She would make this human regret ever suggesting the idea that she was weak and unworthy.

"Yes," grumbled the ninja. "You can get off now…"

He said it in a calm, steady voice, but something about his tone told Loki that it was the first and last time that she ever won a battle against this man. She retracted her claws and got to her feet, and so did Zabuza; although with more trouble. They turned as they heard footsteps: Haku was running towards them through the thinning fog.

"Master Zabuza, are you all right?" he panted as he saw the man's bleeding leg. "I… I mean… how bad are you hurt?"

Zabuza glared at him.

"Oh, it's nothin', just a measly scratch," he growled, watching a puddle of crimson liquid blossom slowly under his feet. Haku gaped at it for a moment.

"I'll… I'll go brew a remedy for that," said the boy, rounding back to the shack as the Jounin sat down and began bandaging his leg with the wrappings he had been wearing on himself.

"Sorry…" said Loki softly, flushing. She hoped nobody would be angry with her.

"What the heck are you apologizing for, girl? You did pretty damn good out there, getting me like that… Hell, that will leave a mark or two..." the man finished the bandaging and looked up at Loki. "Claws in your _feet_ as well? Why, you're full of surprises, aren't you?"

Loki half-smiled shyly. Yeah, full of surprises indeed, she thought, remembering with a shudder that the full moon was fast approaching.

* * *

Later that day, Haku and Zabuza were sitting in the shadow of the broken-down hut, Zabuza's Cleaver glinting crimson in the setting sun, and were discussing their plans for the future. They were still on the run from the Hunter Nin, but Zabuza wasn't planning on staying that way forever. Eventually, he would try taking over the Village of Mist again, and succeed this time. There were loads of preparations to be made, of course, and he knew that he was only at the beginning of a long and perilous track; but one day, he would get there. One day, Momochi swore, he would accomplish his most cherished dream. 

But before he could do anything, Zabuza realized, he needed to gather resources essential for his objective, such as money and recruits. Speaking of which…

"Say, Haku, did you see our girl lately?"

Haku looked this way and that, but Loki was nowhere around. He called out to her, but nobody answered.

"Bloody kid, can't she stay where people can see her?" he heard Zabuza mutter darkly.

"Should I go look for her, sir?"

"Yeah, and tell her to get her rear over here and stay with the group, for gods' sake!"

"Okay, I will."

Haku got up with a slight smile, amused at the older ninja's seeming resentment, and went to look around for Loki. She wasn't anywhere inside or around the shack, nor was she in the thickets on the other side of the glade. Finally, the boy found her kneeling by the stream a little way further into the forest. Her nose was in the air, as though she was sniffing for something. In that odd position, Haku couldn't help noticing, the girl bore a striking resemblance to a dog.

Or, perhaps, a wolf. He wondered where _that _idea came from.

"Loki?" he called out, and the girl snapped back to reality, staring up at him in surprise. "What are you doing here all alone?"

Loki didn't know how to answer this. She couldn't exactly explain that she wasn't used to human company, and that being asked questions about her past made her feel uncomfortable. She also wanted to explore the forest on her own some more and see if the scents which had seemed almost familiar to her would bring out any memories about her pack.

"Um… I… _like_ being alone, I s'ppose," she mumbled, turning away.

Haku sighed. He didn't really want to force her to go back against her own will. Being around Zabuza-san could be oppressing at times if you didn't know him well enough, he realized. And even if you _did _know him for a bit longer then the two seconds it took him to get your throat slashed in half, having your back exposed to the death-glare of a gloomy assassin wasn't exactly the thing to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside on a rainy day. Ah well, if she had to be watched, it didn't necessarily have to be by Zabuza-san. Haku could handle watching all by himself. In the meantime, he could also try extracting some information. He was good at that kind of stuff.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, motioning to a dry rock beside the girl.

She didn't. Haku sat down, making himself as comfortable as possible on the rock's cracked, mossy surface. They sat in an awkward silence for a bit, each one unsure of what to say next. Haku searched his mind desperately for any possible ideas for discussion, but could think of none.

"Nice day today," he started lamely. _Something _was better than nothing at all.

Loki was currently busying herself with tossing small stones into the stream's gurgling waters. She nodded slightly, to demonstrate that she had heard the boy's words.

Meanwhile, inside Haku's head, an imaginary light-bulb flashed as a potential discussion topic presented itself to him.

"You did well today," he smiled at her, "in your battle against Zabuza-san."

Loki looked up from the stream. Aha, thought Haku.

"He was pretty good, too," the girl said. She had stopped herself just in time from adding, 'for a human, that is.'

Haku laughed. It was amusing to him, really, to hear somebody say that Zabuza-san was 'pretty good' in a battle, let alone to hear a scrawny thirteen-year-old _girl_ say that Zabuza-san was 'pretty good' in a battle. But, well, he had to admit that Loki was quite unlike any other girls he'd ever met.

Meanwhile, Loki was eyeing the boy with slight interest.

"Um…" she said, unsure of how to address him. "Err… yesterday… your… mirror-thingies were really awesome," the girl burst out at last. "I've never known hu… I've never known people could do something like that!"

"Oh!" Haku was taken aback by the sudden compliment. "Oh… well…"

"How did you _do _it?" Loki just couldn't help herself. She _had _to know.

Haku stared at her for a bit, then smiled, blushing slightly. Nobody had ever praised his powers before; aside from Zabuza-san, of course. But Zabuza-san had _plans _for him, Haku knew. And this was just a girl; moreover, a girl that had almost been defeated by his abilities; and here she was, being amazed at his Crystal Mirror Jutsu. Haku found it strangely… flattering.

Instead of an answer, he outstretched a hand over the stream and focused. A blob of water sprang up from the speeding current, and hung suspended in mid-air. Haku wiggled his fingers, manipulating the pending shape; and the blob squirmed in synchrony to his movements. Loki watched, wide-eyed. And in the next moment, she found herself staring at a kind of a liquid butterfly-shape, floating serenely just above Haku's unfolded fingers.

Loki eyed it suspiciously for a while; and then, when no sudden surprise-attack came, she relaxed and gave way to amazement. Never before had she seen a special ability being used for something other than fighting. Haku noticed her transfixed gaze and laughed. He wiggled his fingers some more, and the butterfly became a bird first; and then a rabbit, a fish, a flower, and, finally, a cucumber. And then, when Haku felt it was getting a bit repetitive, he blew softly onto the water blob and watched the olive-eyed girl watch it disperse in the atmosphere in a flock of tiny, fluffy snowflakes.

"How was that?" asked the boy.

"Very nice," assured him Loki, with awe in her voice. She scanned her mind for any more compliments, but was disappointed to find that her vocabulary was seriously running low on admiring adjectives. That was enough for Haku, however.

And so their conversation started up; at a nice, steady snail pace at first, but accelerating gradually. The atmosphere became less and less intense, and soon the two kids just sat beside the stream, discussing their techniques and sharing battling strategies as though they'd known each other their whole lives. Haku was easy to talk to, Loki noted. Deep in conversation, she was now only vaguely aware that she was chatting away with a human. It was, perhaps, the first ever small talk of her life…

It held its own purpose, however.

The topic of past life and villages had somehow ebbed its way into the conversation, unobtrusively nudging aside all other comments and remarks. But when Loki had spotted it, it was already too late to edge her way out of the awkward discussion theme. The girl tried mumbling something about not quite remembering anything about her homeland, as she did the day before, but Haku wasn't that easy to sidetrack.

"And what about the… reformatory?" he asked innocently.

Loki's head snapped up suddenly, her eyes widening again, but this time with shock.

"What about it?" she asked in a barely audible voice, taking care not to look Haku in the eye.

"I don't know. You tell me," he answered simply.

Loki was quiet. 'How did he know?' she wondered. How _much _did he know? Could these humans have informed the Centre? What should she do if they did?

Haku was waiting patiently. "Well?" he said finally, after five long minutes of Loki not answering.

Loki's lips moved slightly. "What… do you know about that?" she murmured, becoming suddenly very interested in a sad, soggy plant sticking forlornly out of the shallower part of the stream.

"It was the first thing you said when you came back to your senses," Haku explained. "Well, third, actually. Before that, there was 'Water…' and 'AAAAAH!'. Or something."

Loki was in no mood for humour. The soggy plant in the stream gave way to the powerful currents and in the next second was completely engulfed by water.

"So… you don't know what it is, then?" she asked, in a rather timid voice.

Haku shook his head.

"Oh… right." Loki remembered now. She had asked him that before, and he didn't know the answer back then, either. Unless he did some investigations since then…

However, the boy's scent seemed safe. And before long, Loki was surprised to find herself spilling out her life-story before him. She told him about how she was raised to be a weapon; how she had rebelled; and in the end, how she had escaped the Centre's clutches. Though she was careful enough to omit all the parts that could have held evidence to her being a werewolf – that was one secret Loki was not yet prepared to share with her new team-mate.

Haku listened attentively to the whole of her story; and then, when she had finished, he said:

"No villages, then."

"Nope."

"And you're on the run."

"Yep."

Haku exhaled loudly. That was an… interesting… biography, he had found. It sure was hard to believe, but _somehow_ this whole strange story about a giant facility full of intelligent machines in which people were turned into weapons was much easier to believe than Loki suddenly not remembering what village she had come from. Perhaps it had something to do with the story being told by Loki herself. Or maybe he'd just had too much porridge for breakfast this morning.

Loki looked up at the younger nin, half-anxious, half-expectant. She had asked him, simply and straight-out, whether they were going to hand her back to her former masters, and was waiting for an answer. There was a long pause.

"Don't worry," Haku managed after a while. "You're on _our_ team now. If Zabuza-san has taken you into his team, he won't be giving you up without a fight, you can be sure of that." He smiled reassuringly. The wind blew. The stream gurgled. Birds chirruped high up in the clear skies. The soggy plant, far away now, was still floating down the stream. And then, Loki smiled back. It was faint, but it was definitely a smile.

"I sure hope so," she said. Somehow, she was _sure_ that the boy wasn't lying. She didn't know where the confidence had come from. Perhaps it was the porridge.

They sat in silence for a couple more minutes, each one engulfed in his own thoughts.

"Wow," Haku finally ended the pause, eyes glazing as he stared out into the distance again with the incredulous expression back on his face. "…Wow."

And then they sat in silence some more.

**End Chapter! **Well, Haku now knows _half _the story. But not about the werewolf-part of it, heh-he… And the full moon is approaching! Whatever Loki is going to do? 'chuckle-chuckle'


	8. Secret

**_Author's Note: _**Finally, the eighth chapter is ready. As promised, this chapter will contain Loki's full moon incident-thingy. n.n For all of you that enjoy my story! xD Thanks so much, please keep reading!

I had a lot to say, but got hit in the head by a random flying-by cucumber (don't ask) and forgot everything. Next time, I'll just write everything down on a piece of paper…

Gaara: You're pathetic! And here I was, thinking you were such a great poet.

Me: Shut up. … And I'm a novelist, dammit, NOVELIST! --jumps up and down indignantly--

Gaara: Pffft. You're still pathetic. Stealing Shigure's quotes... -spits and walks away-

Aaaaanyway.

_**8. Secret**_

The next couple of days were bustling with activity for Zabuza. In the end, he had changed his mind about leaving the broken-down shack, deciding to stay there a while longer. It was a nice, isolated place; moreover, his and Haku's wounds from their first encounters with Loki's metal claws would have made it more difficult for them to travel at a reasonable pace anyway. Besides, the man realized that his new recruit required much training before she was ready for any real missions. Overall, Loki was a good fighter: skilled, strong and talented; but as it turned out, she had a lot to learn about the ways of the ninja.

It was very difficult, explaining seemingly basic notions to somebody completely new to the subject. Zabuza had to think hard not to leave anything out: it was difficult to keep track of _everything _he still had to teach to the girl. He also tried testing her for element control: it would have been much easier to teach Loki the right battle techniques if the man knew what element she could manipulate best. Sadly enough, Loki didn't seem to be able to control _any _elements that Zabuza or Haku could think of.

There was also the matter of chakra. Loki had large, untapped amounts of this energy stored inside her body, but she appeared not to know how to use it, and didn't quite grasp the concept itself. Though there was also something else, as Zabuza had noted during one of those exasperating training sessions. Loki's chakra was somehow _different _from his, Haku's or any other ninja's that he had ever encountered. Zabuza couldn't tell how _exactly _different Loki's chakra was from theirs. It just seemed more _intense_, and in a sense, more… _savage_, as well. Perhaps this distinction was the reason as to why Loki had such difficulty accessing it… But then, how was she able to use her Bloodline Limit Abilities? Could they be powered by… something else? But by what? It was all very strange. _Everything _was strange about this child. As far, Zabuza could only figure.

Because of this limited access to her chakra reserves (that was the conclusion that Zabuza drew, in any case), Loki had quite a bit of trouble mastering any Jutsu that involved summoning energy and using it to create special attacks; whether it was water-needles, lightning bolts, blades of wind or giant flying cucumbers. The only special skill that Loki _had _managed to grasp, more or less, was the Body Flicker Technique, which allowed its user to move at extreme speeds; it wasn't an unusual skill among ninja, though it could come in quite handy against the less trained warriors. And although Loki still had a lot of catching up to do on that one, Zabuza had to admit that she wasn't _too _bad for a first timer.

There still were more problems that Zabuza had to resolve. As if he didn't have enough on his plate already, the extra-helping came in the shape of Loki's refusal to use kunai, shuriken or any other sort of ninja weapon. The only weapons she _did_ use were the metal blades embedded in her body; which, on the other hand, as Zabuza had found, she was relying way too much on. He had quite a time explaining to the girl that too many of her techniques were revolving around her claws; and that if they got chopped off by some especially skilled opponent, she'd be almost helpless, which equalled almost dead and, therefore, completely useless to Zabuza and his enterprise. After a whole entertaining match of threats, curses, endless shouting and chasing around the glade with the Cleaver (which Haku found quite amusing to watch from a safe distance with a bowl of porridge), Loki grudgingly accepted the fact that she had no choice but to follow her new master's orders. She decided not to give up quite yet, however, by sticking out her tongue at Zabuza and swearing to use kunai and shuriken _only _as a last resort (and got thrown at with a bowl of porridge grabbed away from Haku as a result).

(The reason for Loki's utter dislike of weapons was one that she couldn't directly explain to her mentor, because it lay in her being a werewolf. This sort of thing tended to run in families. Werewolves, who, whether enslaved or not, have always thought themselves greater-class warriors than humans, regarded weapons as a sort of a bonus the weaker species had to use to make up for its weakness. It was, therefore, beneath a werewolf to use a weapon; in the exception, of course, of the most extreme situations. Loki's claws, however, were a different matter. They were fused with her body, a part of her; and, therefore, didn't count.)

Nevertheless, there were some things that Loki tackled with remarkable ease. Zabuza was amazed at how quickly she grasped all those intricate Taijutsu techniques that had taken even someone as brilliant as Haku at least two months of non-stop practice to get good at. It was as if the man was simply _reminding _the girl of a previously-learned concept that had accidentally slipped her mind. Of course, he _had_ run into some quite talented ninja throughout his lifetime; he was keeping a record of them, in fact, in a small, black leather-bound notebook; but… to be good at hand-to-hand to _that _extent…? If Zabuza were to look inside himself, he would be rather mildly surprised to find that somewhere in the deepest corners of his dark, unbroken ego he felt slightly… envious of this aspect in the girl.

All in all, that week had been crammed with information for Loki. However, new fighting methods weren't the _only _useful things she'd picked up during those days. Aside from learning the Intricate Art of Being A Ninja, Loki had also discovered the Quite Enjoyable Art of Expressing One's Strong Feelings in a Very Compact and Satisfying Way – swearing. Most of such powerful words had come, obviously, from Zabuza; and Loki turned out to be a keen listener. Of course, the manner itself in which those words were said suggested that they weren't really polite; but Loki didn't know their _exact _meaning and, therefore, wasn't very self-conscious about using them herself. They came in especially handy if she stumbled over a fallen branch, or got accidentally hit by one of Haku's flying ice needles: saying those words didn't make the pain go away, but somehow made the girl feel much better. Though this fun wasn't meant to last – after a particularly_ detailed_ explanation of one of the stronger words by a blushing Haku, Loki finally realized why they weren't nice things to say and decided that swear words, like weapons, should be used only as a _last _resort.

* * *

Though while Loki's fighting (and swearing) abilities were developing each day, her social skills didn't much improve. She remained as quiet and aloof as she was on the first day she had officially joined the Mist-nins' group. The girl preferred to keep to herself and spent her training-free time prowling the forests around the shack, searching for any traces of other werewolves. She did talk to Haku from time to time, at first mostly because he stalked her during her strolls and persistently tried to make conversation; but later because Loki found that Haku did, in fact, make an interesting companion. During their walks, he told her everything about his own dreadful past and about how Zabuza had rescued him from the streets and had taken him in. Loki listened carefully and with much interest, but with a twinge of guilt remembered the truth about herself that she'd been keeping hidden. There were moments during which Loki felt that her secret was just about to slip off the tip of her tongue, but always caught herself just in time. How would this nice human boy react to it, if he were suddenly to discover what she was? Loki didn't know, and didn't really want to find out. 

Zabuza, of course, was now filled in on the details of Loki's past (Haku was keeping him informed on anything new he found out about the girl, as instructed); but the Jounin himself wasn't making any attempts to break the ice between himself and his new recruit. It wasn't Zabuza's style to get cuddly with his apprentices. Haku, obviously, got small treats on rare occasions; but it was _Haku_. Zabuza had never had such a hard time with Haku, even if it did last longer. And this girl so far had been nothing but headaches, wounded legs and loads of cursing and chasing after. Next time he picked up an orphan, he'd have to remember to look for a male. Females were much too troublesome, Zabuza found.

Nevertheless, as much as he criticized the girl, Zabuza was quite pleased with Loki's progress. Gradually, his suspicions of her belonging to the Hunter-nin squad began to wear away; and he was too preoccupied with other matters to give that idea too much thought in any case.

There were other things that Zabuza didn't think important at the time. He didn't notice, for example, the worried glances that Loki would occasionally throw at the starlit sky during supper; or that the moon had been growing steadily over the past few nights.

* * *

The _transformation_ would happen tonight. Loki _knew _it. She could already feel the usual symptoms of the oncoming condition. The usual weakness was binding her limbs, paralyzing her entire body. It was showing considerably during her training as well. At the Centre, Loki would be regenerating energy during the three days prior to the metamorphosis; but it would be rather silly to expect the same kind of treatment from the people who didn't know anything about her… situation. 

…The girl stumbled and went sprawling onto the ground as Zabuza caught her in the stomach. Sweat was pouring down her pale face, and Loki herself was breathing heavily. She coughed, struggled to get up to her feet, but fell back to the ground feebly.

"What's wrong with you today?" Zabuza bellowed. "You're _pathetic_!" He tried to drag the girl up into a standing position by the shoulder, but Loki's legs just wouldn't hold her. "Stand up, damn it!"

"Stop yelling at me!" Loki snarled back, unable to hold it in any longer. "I'm just warming up, 'kay?" The stress was getting to her as it was; she didn't need Zabuza to make it even worse with his never-ending brutality. Loki knew she wouldn't be able to do much anyway, even if she tried. The humans at the laboratory would have known that, too. But this wasn't the laboratory, however; and Loki had no choice but to try and struggle through.

Haku leaped down from the heights of a nearby tree and came over to see what was going on. This hadn't been much of a practice so far, what with Loki putting more effort into standing up straight than into the actual battle. He had to give her credit, though. She was trying _really _hard to pretend that nothing was wrong.

"You look sick, Loki-san. Are you _sure _you don't want to lie down for a bit?" asked the boy, his voice full of concern.

Loki shook her head. "I'm all right," she mumbled shakily. "I just need… to warm up some more… That's it…"

Haku surveyed the girl's pallid, almost translucent skin, her sweating face and sunken eyes.

"Loki-san? Your skin's of a funny colour. Are you absolutely _certain _you're--"

"What? No, no! I said I'm fine," the girl argued, wobbling slightly.

Haku outstretched his hand, poked Loki lightly with a finger and watched her overbalance and tumble back onto the grass, yet again. Zabuza, who had been watching this entire scene with his usual frown, made a disgruntled harrumphing noise and turned away. He did realize that the girl was probably just coming down with a cold. But he also knew that there was no better way to beat a cold than by remaining active and drinking loads of hot stew; while lying down would only stretch the whole ordeal over a longer period of time. Momochi preferred hard old exercise rather than rest in a comfy bed as a cure. This method was indeed harsh, especially for beginners, but it worked all right. You just made sure that you didn't get sick a second time.

This wasn't the case with Loki, though. Her strength was draining away like water out of a tissue-paper kettle. In the end, Zabuza had no choice but to dismiss the girl with a glare and a curse aimed mostly at the world at large.

Haku went after the girl as she hobbled away towards the shack, to prepare a remedial stew and press wet towels to her forehead. Zabuza rounded at him.

"And I don't remember giving _you _a break, boy!" he growled, pulling a kunai out of a tree-trunk. "First you finish up the mess of a practice we've started here, and _then _you can go and be a housewife all you want."

"Hur-hur-hur," mumbled Haku under his breath as he drew a senbon out of his sleeve and made a U-turn towards the assassin.

* * *

Loki lay on her pile of willow twigs, pondering. She wasn't in pain, she just felt… weakened. She felt very _heavy_ as well. It was as if leaden weights had been tied to her chest and every thinkable limb of her body. Loki was exhausted; but as tired as she felt she knew she couldn't go to sleep. She pinched herself to chase away the drowsiness. 

There was only one possible way to solve this without the humans finding out the truth. Loki would stay awake until they fell asleep, and then sneak out into the woods. It had been her initial plan, and the wolf-girl decided to stick with it in the end. Yes, the woods. There Loki would complete her transformation and go on her usual savage rampage somewhere far away from the shack. That way, her secret would probably remain safe, but… Loki shuddered all over at the thought of running through the dark, unfamiliar grounds, unable to control herself and not knowing where she would end up. This was _not _a night to look forward to.

Outside, Haku and Zabuza were still training. By the sounds of it, Zabuza had just been struck with a senbon. Judging by the degree of swearing, it must've been pretty bad. Loki wondered where Zabuza was getting all his curses from, and whether he was inventing some new ones along the way. Surely there couldn't be _that _many swear words to go around. And… whoopsie, there he went again… Haku should _really _be more careful with those ice needles.

…In the end, it would be for _everybody's _good, Loki mused. These humans would be safe, at least. Safe from the attack of a crazed, bloodthirsty monster the full moon forced her to become… The humans' safety… That was all that mattered. Or _almost _all. Protecting her secret and searching for her pack… it all mattered too. And Zabuza could swear all he liked, she didn't much care… and… and…

Loki's thoughts mixed up in her mind, tripping over each other and tumbling down, until they were lost in the foggy, grey haze of tiredness. Her head dropped onto the blanket as her consciousness gave way to the dark void of oblivion. The girl made one last feeble attempt to stay awake, but the weakness was taking its toll.

In a few moments' time, Loki was sound asleep.

* * *

Chilly mists were seeping through the shack's broken-down walls, creeping through the silent rooms and over sleeping bodies like ancient, eerie spectres. Loki awoke with a start as she felt their moist, icy touch on her skin. Recollection hit her all at once, like a heavy leaden mallet; and the girl sprang up from her beddings, terrified. How much time had passed since the moment she blacked out? 

Darkness was yawning at the girl through the large gap in the wall. There was no sign of the moon yet, but Loki was already feeling the wolf-blood inside her beginning to boil. She didn't have much time…

She cast a glance at the empty doorway, beyond which Zabuza and Haku lay fast asleep. Loki sniffed the air, just to make sure. Her senses were already beginning to sharpen, and the web of scents was now half-visible even despite the nose-filters. Yes, the humans were _definitely_ asleep. It was now or never.

Loki snuck out from under her blanket as quietly as a shadow, and stepped across the room to face the broken-down wall. Her earlier tiredness was gone now as her wolfish self was beginning to take over. Loki paused as she felt a slight tingling run up her spine and through her head. She stood there, swaying, for a moment or two. Then, when the dizziness had passed, she crouched and with an uncanny agility and precision leaped through the gap. Once outside, the girl cast one last worried glance at the shack before merging soundlessly with the shadows of the night and disappearing into the mists.

Back on his own uncomfortable pile of branches, Haku stirred lightly. He glanced around sleepily, disturbed momentarily by something; then pulled Zabuza's warm overcoat higher over his chin and fell asleep again.

* * *

Loki sped through the woods, racing desperately against time. She was changing as she ran; ears lengthening, pupils narrowing and nails becoming claws. Finally, deciding she had put enough distance between herself and the shack, Loki stopped, panting. She grabbed a gnarled tree-trunk for support and closed her eyes. The wolf inside her was surfacing slowly. There was no time to waste. 

Having caught her breath, Loki straightened up and began undressing. Taking off the last of her bandages, she bundled up her clothes and tossed them into a pile of leaves. The girl wanted to make sure that nothing happened to her outfit while she was on the rampage; it would be really awkward to return to the shack stark naked the following morning, having destroyed her kimono during the transformation.

Mists slithered through the undergrowth, concealing the crouching wolf-girl as she waited in silence. Minutes trickled by, but nothing happened. Loki waited tensely, head turned upwards, her whole body trembling with anxious anticipation. And then, a patch of inky-black sky cleared suddenly, grey ragged clouds revealing a pallid, silvery circle of light…

…The full moon.

…And Loki's world exploded in a sudden burst of pain, fur and evil red-and-purple lights flashing wildly before her eyes. She howled savagely as her whole body convulsed and transmogrified. Her arms and legs lengthened to become powerful paws; her back arched and erupted in coarse, dirty-white fur. The werewolf struggled on the ground, a shapeless, hairy lump sprouting fangs, whiskers and a thick, tufty tail. It bit and clawed at itself and its surroundings, as though trying to tear its way out of its skin, leaving the excruciating agony behind. Jumping to its feet, the wolf thrashed itself more, driven crazy by the moon gleaming indifferently from above.

When it was through with itself, the creature rushed deeper into the forest, leaking blood from its self-inflicted wounds. Rage spread throughout its body like venom. The beast shrieked and roared, crashing wildly through the undergrowth and destroying everything living in its path. Faster and faster it ran, oblivious to reality; and the moon shed its shameless light onto the crimson track that the werewolf was leaving behind.

* * *

Back in the broken-down hut, Haku sat bolt upright, listening hard. 

"What was that?"

Zabuza twitched and opened one eye grumpily.

"Dunno… A wild animal, maybe. Who cares? Go back to sleep!" the man muttered irritably.

Haku lay back down on his underlay, closing his eyes obediently; but he couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Something about that howl just didn't _feel _right. It didn't sound like a cry any normal wild animal could make...

* * *

Sun rose the following morning to find Zabuza already kneeling beside a small stream, splattering chilly, crystalline water onto his naked torso. Scooping up some more of the refreshing liquid into his palms, he splashed it onto his face and shook his head. 

Having finished the washing procedure, the Jounin got up and went back to his campout, to wake up his students and begin yet another day full of training and exercise. There wasn't a lot left to teach to Loki, and Zabuza felt that it was safe enough to leave the broken-down shack in a couple of days in search of a new hideout. He wasn't planning to spend his entire life in that old hut, after all.

Haku was already up and about, doing jumping jacks in front of the crumbled porch.

"Good morning, Zabuza-san!" he panted.

"Mornin'." Zabuza watched him for a moment with a scrutinizing eye. "Whatcha moppin' about for?" he barked briskly after a while. "Give me one hundred push-ups, and I want _real _push-ups, not the weak-handed sack-of-lard ones you gave me last time! Jump to it, now!"

"Yessir!" Haku saluted and fell right away onto his hands and into the push-up position.

Momochi nodded approvingly and stepped into the shack. He didn't mean to be _that _tough on the boy, but that was _training, _after all. You just couldn't go soft on 'em, not during _training_.

And that meant the sleeping beauty in the other room as well. No, Zabuza was _not_ going to go easy on Loki just because she was a girl. If she wanted to stay on his team, she would have to live up to _his _expectations; and Momochi was fanatical about rising with the sun.

She should feel better by now anyway, Zabuza figured as he entered the girl's quarters. One whole day off, in his opinion, provided just about enough to time to cure pretty much any thinkable disease; like, say, malaria, or maybe influenza. Such silly things as common colds didn't even stand close.

Stepping over the threshold, Zabuza cleared his throat.

"ALL RIGHT, UP WE GO!" he bellowed to the place where Loki should have been sleeping. An empty pile of willow branches returned his incredulous gape without a reply.

And a moment later, the whole glade seemed to shake as the ninja yelled out the girl's name. A flock of frightened birds shot up into the sky and out of sight, and Haku froze in a mid-push-up.

…"Oh, I'm sure she's all right, master," said the boy fifteen minutes later, pouring hot stew out into the bowls. "She probably just went out for a stroll."

"Went out for a stroll? Went out for a _stroll_? Without a single word to _me_?" Zabuza was outraged.

"You never said she couldn't," Haku pointed out carefully.

"Yes, but that was because _you_ were always around her anyway! Didn't matter with you on her tail, did it?"

Haku sighed. He knew what was coming up next. Any moment now Zabuza was going to start pushing his 'that-brat-was-with-the-Hunter-nin-all-along' theory all over again. Haku, on the other hand, thought the man should've just learned to trust people more. Some of them, in any case.

"Perhaps she just didn't want to disturb us," said the boy.

"'Didn't want to disturb us' my ass," said Zabuza unpleasantly, sipping his stew. "…Of _course_ she didn't want to disturb us! How else would she be able to sneak out on her—secret meetings, or whatever it is! Now, just you _wait_ until she gets back. Just you _wait. _I'll make it clear to her once and for all--"

But what exactly Zabuza wanted to make clear when Loki came back Haku was never to find out, because a large, blood-soaked heap of a dead boar chose that precise moment to crash onto the clearing through the trees from above. As Zabuza stared at it, dumbstruck, and Haku picked a couple of leaves and twigs out of his long hair, a pale and dishevelled-looking Loki straightened up to put a foot triumphantly onto the boar's large, defeated head. There were scratch-marks and signs of freshly-healing wounds all over her body, though overall she looked quite pleased with herself.

"Loki? Explain yourself," Zabuza growled darkly, flashing a glare at the boar.

"I've been out hunting," Loki panted.

"'Hunting'," Zabuza repeated.

"Yup. I just figured, all we ever eat is stew, right? Well, fine, sometimes it's porridge or baked potatoes. Not that I don't like them or anything!" Loki waved her hands in front of her face protectively. "But it does get a bit… repetitive after a while. If you know what I mean. So I thought I'd make a few changes to our everyday diet, and went hunting!" The girl finished her explanation and beamed around this way and that for approval, though getting little from Zabuza. Meanwhile, Haku came over to take a closer look at her prey and was now examining the boar with the eye of an expert cook.

"You can _hunt_?" Zabuza asked her after a while. "But I thought you have never been to a forest in your life!"

"Ah, well. It's an _instinct_," answered Loki with an enigmatic smile. She had heard that word a lot in the Centre. She wasn't sure about its exact meaning, but had figured that it accounted for all the skills that she was never taught but could do anyway. Something having to do with her lupine heritage, no doubt.

Zabuza was _not _satisfied, however.

"Why the _hell_ didn't you warn us before you went off?" he continued the interrogation.

"Ah. Because it was a _surprise_," said Loki with another mysterious smile. Arguments with Momochi tended not to last very long if you radiated mysterious smiles – Loki had learned that trick from Haku. She was right: Zabuza just scowled, and then scowled even _more _when he saw Haku giggling in amusement in the background. The assassin knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere farther than this, and thus gave up on his inquiry.

"Right. But no more detours without a warning! Got that?" he barked with the most Zabuza-ish death glare he could manage.

"Right," Loki saluted smartly and sprinted up the lane towards the shack before she was asked any more awkward questions.

* * *

Once inside her room, Loki breathed out heavily and collapsed onto the branch heap. She had gotten away with it, _this_ time; but it sure was difficult to keep up the cheerful performance in front of the humans, being tired as she was. It had been one exhausting night, and there were two more nights like that ahead of her. Loki remembered with a sudden shudder everything that had happened in the forest: how, when the moon had set, she came back to her senses in the middle of nowhere; how she had to track down her clothes and cover up the worst of her wounds; and how she had stumbled across that same wild boar that Haku was now skinning outside the shack. That hunting bit sure was a lucky stroke of inspiration… Loki was quite proud of herself for that. 

Overall, Loki considered her mission accomplished – the ninja remained as clueless about her true nature as a couple of concussed ducklings. But would the wolf-girl be able to keep it up, or would she break down eventually and be slaughtered like some dangerous, rabid mongrel? Loki didn't know the answer to that one. The only thing she did know right now, however, was that she was in a serious need of some sleep – and that was one calling impossible to ignore. So she made herself comfortable on the blanket, and let the oblivion take her once more.

**End Chapter! **Ha-ha! They didn't discover Loki's secret THIS TIME! xD And here you were, thinking that she was busted for sure, weren't you.-.-' Well, you were _wrong! --_laughs like the coffee-high nuttercase that she is, while Gaara shakes his head sadly--


	9. Journey

**_Author's Note: _**Yessss another update at last! Bwahaha. x3 I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update! TToTT I've been so very busy with end-of-school projects and exam preparations that I got a severe writer's block as a result! O.O Also, I got lost on the Way of Life between my endless piles of homework, and couldn't find the way to the computer. Oo Err…

Anyway, after a long time of not writing, here is Chapter Nine for you to enjoy :D Originally, it was rather long so I cut it in half, but don't worry. The other half is sitting nicely and quietly in my files, waiting to be submitted as another chapter. Bwahaha, aren't I evil. –evil grin- Meh, I'll just make the chapters shorter from now on, and update more often. -.o

Also, thanks for the awesome reviews! xD You guys just make me want to submit a new chapter every day, and MAN how I wish that was possible. But anyway, onwards with the story! xO

**_9. Journey_**

Loki was still feeling weak over the next two days, though her condition improved considerably compared to the first night of the full-moon cycle. But even though the moon was no longer full, Loki still needed to sneak out after darkness in order to find a quiet, private place for her transformations. Miraculously, she managed to get away with these disappearings for both remaining nights (various wild animals the girl captured during her 'waking hours' always came in _very_ handy). Zabuza and Haku didn't seem to mind at all having new additions to their diet, and all suspicions were cast aside in a deliciously-smelling atmosphere of roast meat and happy carbohydrates.

During those two days Loki also found out that there was one animal out there that she was categorically not allowed to hunt, no matter the circumstances. She couldn't understand what was so special about the little white rabbit she had almost skewered with her metal claws one morning as she was showing off her hunting skills to Zabuza. However, it seemed very precious to Haku and he had made a point of being really upset for a long time after he'd rescued the thing right from under the girl's deadly blades. Apparently, this rabbit was a 'pet' – a concept Loki categorized as another one of the humans' oddities; and although she didn't quite see the point of feeding something that could find food well enough by itself, she knew better than to argue with Haku. To make it easier for herself and prevent any such unpleasant incidents in the future, Loki simply decided to leave alone all and any rabbits she ever came across – just in case.

* * *

Not long afterwards, Zabuza finally announced his plans of abandoning the shack to the general public, which consisted of an alert-as-usual Haku, a slightly confused-looking Loki, and the white rabbit, which was currently gnawing on a celery stalk. It was decided that they were leaving the next morning. Where to, Zabuza preferred not to mention (just in case Loki _was _with the Hunter-nin. It was hard to shake off a suspicion if you were Zabuza Momochi). 

The whole remaining afternoon had then been spent on wrapping up left-over roast, packing the bags and covering up all traces of evidence that could lead any randomly passing-by Hunter-nin onto Momochi's tracks.

Meanwhile, Zabuza was giving Loki some last-minute instructions, in case they were to encounter any hostile confronters.

"…Remember those Taijutsu techniques that I taught you…" Zabuza was saying while demonstrating a battle stance. He listed a couple of moves as an example, and Loki nodded. "…And the Body Flicker Jutsu, poorly as you perform it."

There was a slight scowl from Loki's part at that one, though she didn't deny it. Her Body Flicker left quite some room for improvement (there was room enough, in fact, to fit an entire cathedral in there and still have space left over for a small gift shop). Yes, as it was, Loki's access to her chakra was still very limited.

"…And for gods' sakes, do _not reveal your claws to your opponents until you really, _really_ need them!_" Zabuza punctuated the last 'really' with an icy death glare for more effect, but by that time Loki was just too used to them to notice this one as well. The girl nodded again to show that she acknowledged the man's words. Then, as a sudden idea struck her, Loki's hand went up to her face.

"Perhaps we could avoid getting into any messes in the first place if I just have enough time to warn you about the oncoming trouble," said the girl, removing and pocketing her nose-filters.

Zabuza scrutinized her for a moment. That was a good thought. He had almost forgotten all about the girl's special ability.

"Smart girl," he said after a while, grinning through his bandages; which left Loki feeling very pleased with herself for the rest of the day.

* * *

In the morning they set off. The weather was cheerful, not a cloud tarnishing the brilliant skies - a perfect day to embark upon an unpredictable and potentially dangerous journey. 

Zabuza and Loki had to wait for Haku for quite some time before starting on their way while he crawled around in the nearby bushes trying to recover his ever-elusive pet-rabbit. This caused an outburst of rage and curses from Zabuza, who hated to wait. But the man knew that his apprentice wouldn't leave without the damn animal, so he just decided not to waste his breath and calmed down eventually, though rather reluctantly.

Loki stood on a rock while they waited, turning her head this way and that and scanning the air for any suspicious scents. The atmosphere was pleasant and rather relaxing, but the girl felt a bit restless. She glanced at the sad, broken-down hut back in the depths of the glade. The old wrecks were looking more forlorn and abandoned than ever now, betraying no clue of being the renegades' former lodge. That shack had grown to be somewhat… somewhat like a _home_ to Loki over the past several weeks, and she felt a strange tingle in her chest at the thought of leaving it behind. Suddenly it just didn't seem like a very good idea, but it wasn't up to the girl to make decisions. So she just stood and wandered about where they could possibly head to next.

Finally the rabbit was retrieved (under the accompaniment of numerous snide remarks and curses from Zabuza), and the Mist team was off, rushing upwards into the thick canopy of century-old trees. Zabuza chose a way and sped off in that direction, his apprentices on his heels, leaping from branch to broad, sturdy branch. Their surroundings became a green blur as the travellers accelerated, and the faint morning breeze became a harsh, searing stream of resisting air. It was quite fun, Loki thought, although you had to be very careful to avoid getting hit by randomly hanging vegetation. She was managing all right, but sprinting at great speed through all those evil and elaborately intertwined trunks, twigs and vines could prove quite a challenge for a beginner. The good thing about being a werewolf, however, was that you learned pretty fast as you went along.

They called a halt in the afternoon, not so much because they were tired (by that time, Loki had become quite skilled at concealing her fatigue) but because Zabuza was beginning to feel slightly hungry, and that was never a good thing. They had some roast boar, and Loki had to run down to a nearby stream to refill her water canteen (generally, werewolves got thirsty a lot more often than humans, once again due to all those complex biological details that you wouldn't possibly understand).

After that, the ninja were yet again on their way. They journeyed all day long and slept under the open sky that night, with Zabuza on guard duty. Loki found the whole experience strangely familiar. A faint, old recollection, a mere _shadow_ of a memory was prodding her mind gently right on the threshold of consciousness, although… it couldn't quite be right, now could it. Loki was absolutely _certain_ that there had been no forests in the Centre, and no starry skies to sleep under.

* * *

The forest gradually grew less and less dense as Zabuza led his team on towards the destination he'd had in mind. They were using a path on the ground instead of the trees now; and eventually, that pathway widened out to become a fully-fledged road. Tall wooden poles lined the way like great, worm-eaten sentinels; and long cable wires extended along those poles seemed to stretch on forever and ever. A small village was lodged in a valley not a long way away, and that was the place Zabuza was heading for. 

There were quite a few of such townships around these parts. Concealed and isolated by the wilderness, they were protected little communities that made business by selling all kinds of things (whether legal or not quite so) to any travelling passers-by with money on them that ever happened to stumble upon those locations.

The big thing about money was that, besides giving its owner the power to buy almost anything in the entire world, it could also make people very incurious about who bought their merchandise. Business didn't tend to go very well if you lived in a secluded little place and were picky about your customers. That was why shopkeepers of the Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles tended to ignore such insignificant little details as bloody battle-axes, shrunken-head necklaces and, in certain cases, giant neck-slicing Cleavers. Zabuza liked that.

The man's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he felt something brush lightly against his right hand. He looked down to find Loki pressing in closely to his side. It was a rather unintentional movement from the girl's part, caused simultaneously by staring wide-eyed at the telegraph-poles instead of watching where she was going, and trying to shy away from them into the shadow of her mentor.

Zabuza fixed Loki down with a suspicious frown.

"What's the problem, girl?"

Loki flinched at the sound of his voice and withdrew at once from the man's personal space, flushing.

"It's those things," she said, casting a nervous glance over at the poles. They bore faint scents of steel and circulating electricity, thus slightly reminding the girl of the Centre and its complicated, cruel devices, which she came to associate with a lot of pain. "What _are _they?"

"Telegraph-poles. Nothing to be frightened of," explained Haku from Zabuza's left, waving his hand lightly. He had already gotten to know Loki well enough to be able to guess her concerns. "Don't worry, we're not going to hand you over to the Centre," he continued in a bored, sing-song voice of somebody explaining an obvious concept to an inquisitive but slightly dim student for only the thousandth time.

That seemed to calm Loki down a bit, but she kept casting suspicious glances at the telegraph-poles over her shoulder every now and then throughout the remainder of their journey.

* * *

Another thing that Zabuza liked about the Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles was that, for some reason, few Hunter Nin ever came there. Few people ever came there, period. Not many even knew about the place; but the ones that _did_ know, however, mostly happened to be the handlers of such insignificant objects as bloody battle-axes and giant neck-slicing Cleavers. 

Certain security measures were nevertheless obligatory. You just never knew. That was why Zabuza took the necessary precautions by making Loki sniff Haku's old Hunter-nin mask and scan the area for any scents of similar objects. (It was an easy task for the wolf-girl, for under the strong scent of Haku there was a thin layer consisting of odours of specific wood and paints that had been used on the thing. The overall scent was quite simple to detect and would be common for all such masks.)

After making absolutely certain that the surroundings were Hunter-nin-free, the Mist team continued confidently (more or less) on their way.

* * *

The village streets were deserted, except for a couple of wary-looking washerwomen hanging the laundry to dry outside their homes. Out of the corner of her eye, Loki could see them giving Zabuza's sword suspiciously-disapproving glances as the trio walked past. The Cleaver's owner, however, remained completely unperturbed by the fact. He had more important matters on his mind at the moment, like that important little business he had to attend, which was none of Haku's or Loki's concern. 

But before he attended any important businesses and such, Zabuza realized that there was a little shopping they had to do first. He glanced sideways at Loki. She definitely needed a new outfit. Her (or rather _Haku_'s) kimono, which had already been a couple of sizes too small for the girl, had become even _smaller_ as a result of being Loki's only clothing choice available throughout continuous training. Through all the rips and tears, patches of filthy bandages could be barely visible. Overall, Loki looked as though she had been through a shredder; and Zabuza would not be disgraced by people saying he didn't take care of his subordinates.

Twenty minutes later, the ninja came out of a small clothes shop on the corner of the street, Loki turning excitedly this way and that as she walked, trying to take in a fuller view of her brand-new outfit. She had never seen a thing like that before. It wasn't a kimono, but a rather stylish garment in black and dark-grey hues, of the type that a real kunoichi would wear. It came with a pair of tight-fitting shorts and looked somewhat like a dress, except that what was meant to be the skirt was, in fact, rather more like two wide strips of finely-processed grey material covering the wearer's front and back. (The shorts were there for a reason.) There were also black fishnets and bandages involved in the design, a constant and irremovable detail of any proper ninja uniform.

"Congrats, Loki, you look like a real kunoichi now!" beamed Haku as the girl continued the thrilled inspection of her garments. He found a bit silly the fact that somebody could get so excited over _clothes_, but Loki was a girl, after all. And he had to admit, she looked much better in this new outfit than she did in the shredded kimono.

"You like it?" Zabuza asked the girl in his usual gruff tone of voice, watching her fruitless attempts to see her own back over her shoulder with slight amusement. It wasn't as much a question, but a rather tactful reminder that he _did_, indeed, spend a considerable amount of gold in that clothes shop and was now supposed to be thanked.

"Yes!" Loki replied happily, finally giving up on trying to check out her own back. "Err, thanks… um… Zabuza-san." Or whatever it was that people usually said in such circumstances.

She didn't know why she called the man 'Zabuza-san'. Even though he had told her to call him that at the very beginning, Loki either referred to him as 'master', like she had done when addressing the humans at the Centre, or avoided using any names at all. But "Zabuza-san" just slipped off her tongue, and this wasn't supposed to happen. Zabuza might have been treating her better than all her previous trainers had done, but he was still a human (and so, for that matter, was Haku). And Loki found it hard to trust humans, regardless of who they were. She preferred to keep her barriers up.

Up until now, that was. Loki didn't know when or how it could happen, but she gradually began to think of the two ninja she was accompanying not as 'those humans', but as… well, _people_. People that she didn't much mind being with. And considering that Loki was a werewolf, it meant coming a long way.

There was a small caf nearby, squished in from two sides (as well as the top) by numerous shops, stores and apartment rooms. It didn't look like much, but it was the best caf there was. It was the only caf there was.

Zabuza led the way towards it. It's been a while since he or Haku had eaten a proper meal. Hell, why not make it a treat day for everyone?

Meanwhile, Loki was wondering out loud whether they sold headbands like the ones her team-mates wore around here somewhere. If she was getting a uniform, she figured, she might as well get the complete set.

Haku smiled at that, and shook his head.

"It doesn't work this way, Loki. Headbands cannot be bought in shops. You've got to graduate from a ninja academy in order to earn one."

"No headband for me, then." The sparkles of happiness flickered one final time and died away.

"Nope."

Loki sighed and hung her head. So much for becoming the official member of the squad. Haku saw her disappointment.

"You can wear mine if you want one that much," suggested Haku the gentleman; but Loki refused the offer, smiling gratefully.

"That's all right. Accessories don't matter."

"Well, that's _good,_" put in Zabuza, who'd been listening. "Don't expect me to throw away _my _money buying _you _any useless trinkets." It was quite obvious that he wasn't going to anyway, but he just _had _to point out the evident fact. That was Zabuza Momochi for you.

They entered the caf to find themselves surrounded by tables, sleeping men and a sort of a greyish floating haze. A little bell rang as the door opened and, behind them, closed. As soon as they were inside, Loki's unprotected nose informed her that some heavy drinking had been going on in the place. Brownish-yellow scent of alcohol stung the girl's nostrils. 'Humans,' she thought disgustedly, narrowing her eyes and trying to breathe as little as possible.

Zabuza fished in his knapsack and produced a small sack of gold, which he handed to a puzzled-looking Haku with the words "Here. Buy yourselves something to eat."

Behind them, the air shifted slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Momochi noticed the tiniest hint of a movement, just the merest suggestion of motion. A couple of softly-breathing heaps sprawled over the nearby tables budged a little at the sound of gold coins clinking, and then went back to looking innocently asleep. The bandaged nin frowned and lowered his tone.

"Buy anything you want, there's enough here for both of you. I will be… out. Let's just say I feel like strolling a little, _understand_?"

Haku nodded. '_Understand?_' usually meant that something serious had come up, and Zabuza needed to take care of it on his own.

"If anything happens…" the older ninja peered at the drunken men through narrowed eyes - "you know what to do."

"Yes, sir."

In reality, Haku didn't. But Zabuza-san didn't have to know that.

Zabuza caught his eye, and then glanced at Loki, who had been carefully sniffing at the contents of an almost-empty beer mug. He was amused to see her screw up her face in distaste and toss the offending mug carelessly back onto the table.

"Make sure she behaves. Don't let her wander off on her own."

"Yes, sir. You can count on me, sir."

"Good. I'll be back soon." Deciding that he had given enough instructions for two hours of leaving his apprentices on their own, Zabuza gave one final approving nod, turned around and walked out of the caf. The little bell rang again as he left. Haku watched the door shut, eyed the sleeping men suspiciously and joined Loki at the counter. A puffy-eyed barman greeted them with a drowsy "Yes? How can I help you?"

Haku picked up a menu from one of the tables. There wasn't a great variety of dishes to pick from. He settled for a bowl of _udon_ and passed the menu over to the wolf-girl.

"Er…" said Loki, who couldn't read. An awkward silence followed. Haku broke the pause by taking the menu back from the girl and scanning it over again.

"Um. I'll order you some _yakitori._"

"Some yucky--_what?_"

"_Yakitori. _You'll like it, trust me," said the boy reassuringly, seeing Loki's confused stare. "And no, it's not yucky. At least it's not _supposed _to be…" Haku couldn't help but add the last bit in a small voice while casting a disapproving glance at his surroundings.

"Hey, watch it, kid!" growled the barman, who had heard.

* * *

The Hunter-nin were in hot pursuit. The renegade was very clever and _very _elusive, but they managed to get a hold of his track at last, and _this _time he wasn't going to get off that easily. 

There were six of them in the squad. They were aware that their enemy was also strong as well as clever and elusive, and that he was probably going to be a handful even when outnumbered one to six; but they were all quite strong themselves and would win, eventually. Of course, they _could_ have informed a dozen of other Hunters about their findings, just to be on the safe side of things; but there was also the bright and shiny prospect of promotion if they apprehended a dangerous and powerful criminal all by themselves. Besides, there would also be _other_ rewards, and anyone who could do simple math would realise what _that_ meant with as few members on Team Successful as possible…

* * *

Several kilometres away, Zabuza was prowling the murky streets of the Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles. There was a business he still had to attend in this place. That was the reason why he was here in the first place. 

He was waiting for the informant. The informant was supposed to give him the address of a man, who in turn would hand him the current coordinates of his new employers. Zabuza wondered who the hell they were going to be this time, and whether the money offered was even worth all the trouble he had to go through to get to those bast-- people. If it _wasn't _worth it… well…

He spat onto the ground. There was nothing that he could do, really. Except make plans. And he had several of them circulating his mind at the moment. Unfortunately, with the goddamn Hunter-nin on his tail they would all prove quite difficult to carry out.

Zabuza spat onto the ground again and swore darkly under his breath. Where was that damn informant...?

* * *

Back in the diner, Haku and Loki had received their orders and settled down to eat at a table near the window. The girl was very pleased to discover that _yakitori _turned out to be grilled chicken. 

"Told ya you'd like it!" beamed Haku, watching the wolf-girl gobble down her meal. He wished she ate a bit slower and… less ravenously, but he couldn't blame her for being hungry.

"Where's Zabuza-san gone off to?" asked Loki, swallowing yet another mouthful of chicken, which turned out to be pretty fresh and well-cooked, against all expectations. '"Zabuza-san"… That's twice a day already,' the girl caught herself thinking.

"There's some business he had to take care of."

"What kind of business?"

Haku shrugged. "Didn't say."

"He didn't even get himself anything to _eat!_" exclaimed Loki in-between large bites of chicken. You had to admire the man. Even _she _was too hungry to function properly (and had gotten even hungrier when she sensed the chicken), and she was a _werewolf_. Werewolves were supposed to be better at this resistance stuff than humans.And yet Zabuza appeared to beat even werewolves at that.

Haku shrugged again and chopsticked around in his own bowl. "There are things more important than food," he said, swallowing some noodles.

Loki eyed him with slight amusement and stuffed more _yakitori_ into her mouth. _Things more important than food, eh? _She begged to differ.

Meanwhile, the smoke-filled air in the caf trembled and stirred as one of the seemingly-sleeping figures got slowly up to its feet. It stood there for a while, rocking gently, then turned around to face the two kids sitting by the window. For a moment it stared at them, as though some invisible radar inside its head were trying to pick up the faint signals of gold coins clinking; and then, making up its mind and deciding that it was quite a safe idea, the shape began to lumber towards the two.

**End Chapter! **And a cliffhanger-ish ending, evil, evil me (well, what did you expect? ;) What will happen next, I wonder? o.O

And in the scene with the road and the telegraph poles, I kinda referred to the filler sketch of Chapter 30 in the manga n.n;; I thought it was a cute scene. x3 Only I added Loki in the picture this time, ahaha...

Also, since I'm only vaguely familiar with the geography in Naruto's world, I took the liberty of inventing some of the villages and such. And no, there is no Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles in manga or anime (or at least I hope not). :3 Enjoy the biscuits. x3


	10. Hunters

**_Author's Note: _**I went to a trip with no Internet access, so I could only post this chapter six days later than the previous one, even though it was all ready to go and all, because it all used to be one chappie. Sucks, no? x3

Also, I don't know much about what it is that Hunter Ninja do (work-wise) when they're _not _tracking dangerous runaway criminals, so I just did a bit of improvising myself.

And I'm so glad you guys like Loki! xO Mwahaha. Oh, and homework IS evil indeed. X3

_**10. Hunters**_

Loki's olfactory senses screamed in alarm as they located what felt like a pile of rags tinted with strong odours of man and alcohol making its way towards their table. She shot Haku a warning glance. The boy caught her eye, glimpsed sideways and nodded to show that he understood.

"Keep eating," he muttered. "Don't look that way. If we ignore him, he might just go past."

The next few moments, however, proved that this wasn't going to be the case. The figure shambled up to the table and was now casting a menacing shadow over the duo. It decided to get straight to the point.

"Hey kids, you got money?" it asked in a gruff male voice.

The ninja-in-training just sat there, eating quietly, as though nothing was happening. Perhaps ignoring the man wasn't the brightest idea in the world, because he was getting rather annoyed by the lack of attention.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" growled the man a tone louder. "You've got money, I know you have--"

"Not anymore. Spent it all on food," Haku cut in, his voice calm. He _could _have shown the bothersome drunk a kunai and told him to bugger off nicely before they all found out what colour his guts were (that's what Zabuza would've done, in any case), but Haku wasn't an upholder of violence when it wasn't strictly necessary. He always tried the peaceful approach first, and only chopped people to hamburger patties if the peaceful approach didn't work on the third try. Whatever a hamburger patty was.

The unfortunate man, however, had no idea whom he was dealing with. He kept on standing where he was, clearly not intending to leave empty-handed. Much to his misfortune, he had just spotted Loki and found her to be quite an attractive young girl.

"Hey girlie, what a pretty face you have," he crooned, his mouth stretching into a toothy grin. "Why don't you come with me…?"

And he put a grubby hand on her shoulder.

There was a pause, during which Loki slowly and silently put down her _yakitori _skewer. The man couldn't possibly know what she was, but she never forgot for one moment that the people around her were _filthy humans. _Well, that wasn't completely true _filthy human filthy human. _As far as she was concerned, the human world was divided into Haku and Zabuza, and _damn filthy human dirty bastard scum_ everybody else. And Loki didn't have to be nice to everybody else. _Dirty human scum, don't you dare touch me! _

The pause was over in a few seconds. Haku slid a kunai out of his sleeve (peaceful approach was peaceful approach, but no one was going to disrespect his friend and get away with it), but Loki acted faster. With a furious "Get your hands off me, you damn filthy human!", she leaped up from her seat, swung two sets of shiny metal claws and… missed the man by a heartbeat. The shocked offender managed to dodge the blow by stumbling backwards just in time – perhaps the drunk wasn't quite as drunk as he had been trying to appear. The blades sunk into the table right behind the spot where the man had just been standing, and the wood began smouldering slightly where the claws had struck.

Haku, the barman and a couple of other drunks, roused from their sleep by the sudden disturbance, were now all watching the scene with a mixture of shock and curiosity (and, in the case of the drunks, with slight annoyance at all the noise).

Meanwhile, Loki recuperated and turned to face her victim, eyes glowing and face contorted with rage. The offender stared back at her, wild-eyed, gibbering something incomprehensible in his beard. Whatever he was expecting from the girl, it clearly wasn't _that_.

Loki began walking towards him, aware of every muscle in her _sleek, lupine body. _The wolf-shaped entity inside her mind. It was back. It was seeping into her thoughts, clouding her human-shaped common sense; _you're a wolf,_ it said, and Loki was beginning to think like a wolf again. She could already feel fangs sprouting within her jaws and her senses gradually magnifying to their full potential. Growling softly, she was advancing on the man, who staggered backwards and fell onto his back.

Haku was watching the action develop with a growing concern. Zabuza-san could be back any minute, and he wouldn't be pleased to find out that Loki went around starting tavern-brawls while he was away (not to mention all the people that could get hurt). The feeling of responsibility for the girl had never left the young ninja ever since the day he had first dragged her battered, bleeding body onto the doorstep of their shack; and now it was reinforced even further by Zabuza's words, "make sure she behaves". Technically, Loki was defending herself; but (technically as well) she could've done that without causing so much fuss. Haku felt that he had to interfere before anything _too _disastrous happened.

He suddenly became aware that Loki was preparing for a second assault.

"Loki, stop th--!"

He moved quickly, but the wolf-girl had already pounced. She missed again. The man rolled out of her reach, sprang up to his feet with an agility that only fright can grant, and ran out of the diner screaming "MONSTER! BLOODY MANIACS AFTER ME!" and overturning tables along the way. Loki leaped upwards and was soon in hot pursuit of her prey, charging over the tabletops. She hadn't hunted in a long while. Oh, this was going to be _fun. _

Haku rushed after them, stopped in the doorway, turned around to give a nervous "Sorry about that!" and an apologetic smile to the barman, and followed the two others down the street. In the silence that followed, the sound of the little bell ringing as the door slammed shut after the boy sounded like thunder.

It's pointless to argue with a wolf when it's chasing its prey. It was therefore absolutely useless to shout out Loki's name and run the risk of attracting Zabuza's attention to the chase. Haku couldn't possibly know the truth about the girl's real nature, but he could swear that there was something positively _animal _about the way she was pursuing that man. It was taking the whole thing over the top just a little, in Haku's opinion; but he wasn't going to risk interfering until Loki calmed down a bit (not that he was scared. He was simply clever and also very _attached _to his limbs. And that drunkard was getting what he asked for, in any case).

Thus, Haku decided that it would suffice to just jog along at Loki's heels and make sure she didn't do anything too drastic-- _more _drastic than chasing a man down the street, that was.

He sighed and picked up speed to keep up with the girl. Loki could sure be _scary_ when she was angry.

* * *

There was a scent in the air. It floated into the streets of the Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles on a gentle afternoon breeze, among many other scents, odours and fragrances. The scent _itself_ was very faint, however; barely a trace of a _hint _of a scent. Though it wasn't faint enough not to be picked up by Loki's over-excited-by-the-almost-transformation nasal glands. It was very familiar; so familiar, in fact, that the werewolf forgot all about her hunt and stopped just to sniff at it. This scent, it rang a bell… or rather an alarm. It was the scent of a special kind of paint on a special kind of wood. And it was getting stronger by the minute. 

Haku, who was following at the girl's heels, almost crashed into her as she stopped suddenly. The pursued man, now at the far end of the street, turned a corner and ran yelling on, forgotten by his predator.

Haku approached his team-mate and touched her shoulder gingerly. He didn't know what caused her to become so seemingly calm all of a sudden, so he had to be very careful.

"Loki? W-what's the matter?"

"Haku…" Loki's voice was soft and tense. "Haku, I thought I just felt the scent of those mask-things… like the one Zabuza-san showed to me earlier, only different ones, not yours. The scent is very weak, but it is moving this way. I don't know if it's just me, but I think we'd better tell Master about that… But... but what do _you _think? Do you think that it's possible…?" she let the sentence hang in the air, the words lingering between them, and turned to look at the boy. Haku stared back, wide-eyed, as it struck him.

"You smelled the Hunter-nin masks? You think… _them_?" he asked, trying hard not to sound panicky. This was serious business. "But are you _certain_? Are you sure the Hunter Ninja are coming this way?"

Loki sniffed the air again. The scent was hovering above their heads, a barely sensible mixture of mauve and light-green threads.

"Don't know about Hunter-nin," she admitted, "but I can definitely smell the masks."

Haku's hands clenched into fists. "I think it would be better if we _do_ inform Zabuza-san about that," he said, staring thoughtfully at nothing in particular.

* * *

Zabuza was trudging along the streets in the general direction of the caf where he'd left Haku and Loki. Having received the information he needed, the man felt that he'd accomplished his goals for this week and decided to call it a day. They could spend the night in one of the city's inns and head out in the morning, no rush. Everything was going to work out, he just knew. 

He heard the sound of running feet and turned around to find his apprentices running towards him, Loki in the lead. Zabuza glared at them as they caught up.

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the tavern?" he growled. He didn't, as he was remembering now, but that was hardly the point. You had to be stern with kids if you didn't want them scampering wild all over places.

Anyway, judging by their faces, something serious must've happened. Haku wouldn't be looking that alarmed if it was just something trivial. Getting to the bottom of all this seemed like a good idea.

Haku told Zabuza about the scent Loki had picked up earlier and shared their suspicions with the Jounin. Zabuza frowned. What were the chances?

After a moment's thoughtful silence, Zabuza said, "Right. I don't know what it was that you sensed, Loki, but we should get away from here right now, just to be on the safe side. And since we're already all set…" he looked his apprentices over, nodded, apparently satisfied, and finished the sentence, "…we might just as well get on going _now_."

* * *

The Hunter-nin approached the Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles. The renegade was here, they knew it. They had found some valuable clues leading to his current whereabouts. Finding him was only a matter of time now. 

Into the village they came, down the streets they ran, and over the rooftops they hopped. They split into six directions, hoping to cover a greater area in a smaller amount of time. The renegade was sneaky. Well, he _was _a ninja, after all. But so were they. And they knew all about his dirty, sneaky little tricks.

Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles wasn't a particularly large village, thus there shouldn't have been too many places to hide. And according to their tip, the renegade was supposed to still be there when they arrived – that was for certain. However, he proved to be _much _sneakier than they had expected. For as carefully as they had combed the village in search of him, the Hunter-nin still found no trace of the renegade.

Well, he couldn't have gone far, in any case.

* * *

Zabuza, Haku and Loki were leaping among the treetops, striving to leave the Quiet Village Hidden in the Pine Needles as far behind them as possible. Darkness was falling, enveloping the forest in a veil of sombre hues. Zabuza liked that. With any luck, nightfall would conceal their tracks and throw any possible pursuers off their tails. 

The older ninja made his team take some paths and turns that were quite irrelevant to their initial course, mostly to fend off or at least confuse anyone who might have been following. It was very time-consuming, so he really hoped it would work.

It didn't.

Loki was the first one who sensed the Hunters catching up and didn't hesitate to announce that to the other two. Zabuza sighed. Oh well, no use in keeping on running and hoping their pursuers would get tired faster… The man slowed, and hopped down to the ground. His apprentices imitated him.

"No sense in running any further, they'll catch up to us later on anyway," the Jounin spoke his thoughts out loud. "We'll wait for them here and fight when they arrive. How far away are they, Loki?"

Loki sniffed. "A couple of miles away from us, sir. But they are approaching very fast."

"Well, that still leaves us _some _time to prepare, then. Why don't we build up our chakra in the meantime and give our friends a _proper _welcome?" Zabuza grinned maliciously, taking out his Cleaver.

Haku put down his backpack. The rabbit was peering up at him through an opening, one of its fluffy white ears sticking out from under the sturdy green cloth of the sack. Zabuza had told him to leave it behind because they had little time to waste, but Haku had insisted on getting it anyway while Loki and his master had gone on ahead.

He looked at the animal sadly. The rabbit was useful as a decoy, but oftentimes it was also one of the main causes of their setbacks. The boy was afraid that one day Zabuza-san would stop being tolerant and chop it up with his Cleaver. Haku wouldn't want that. He liked the rabbit.

He pushed the fluffy creature back into the knapsack, and turned his attention to his weapons instead.

When the Hunter-nin have finally caught up, the renegades were in full gear and waiting. Zabuza smirked when he saw their trackers – worthless punks, he thought. There were six of them, and he was sure that they were pretty strong since they were in the Hunter Ninja squad; but they were still punks compared to _him_. He could sense their chakras. Nothing out of the ordinary. Bring it on, suckers, he sneered.

The Hunter-nin weren't expecting to be expected. They were therefore very surprised to find themselves suddenly enveloped by a thick white fog and then completely surrounded by an army of watery Hakus and Zabuzas. Two of the Hunters fell right away, caught unaware by the enemy's well-preparedness; though the other four seemed to recuperate from the first shock pretty fast.

Soon, the small clearing became littered with armies of water clones fighting each other, their creators among them. Loki slipped in-between the battling ninja, pointing out the real enemy among the numerous clones to her partners, until she found herself locked in combat with one of the real Hunters themselves.

"What a bothersome brat you are," snarled the Hunter, as the steel of his giant kunai collided with Loki's blocking arm. "But not to worry, I'll silence you once and for all…"

The kunai pressed hard against the girl's flesh, spattering crimson, smouldering blood. The Hunter grinned.

"_Dirty human scum!"_

For the second time throughout the day, Loki became acutely aware that she was a _werewolf_, and her opponent – a silly human. Werewolves were supposed to outclass humans by far when it came to fighting, and yet here she was, yielding to some pathetic monkey that had to resort to a measly _weapon_ to win a fight. What would the Chief think if he saw her now! And what about her family (if they even existed)! Offended wolf-blood boiled as the pride of heritage took over, and with newfound strength Loki deflected the blade. Before the Hunter could do any more damage, she slammed him into the stomach with a powerful fist and sent the man flying to the ground.

Well, that was it for the human. She leaped, and with the familiar metallic _sliiiiinng _her claws shot out from between her knuckles. She brought them down heavily, and--

--What the…?--

--sliced a block of wood in three smooth, round pieces. And right away, she felt someone re-appear behind her. And then came the swish of a weapon.

On the other side of the clearing, Haku was battling another Hunter; judging by the looks of it, a female. Unlike the ninja that attacked Loki, she didn't speak at all, but was very swift and deflected every attack with incredible (not to mention graceful) agility. It seemed to Haku that she was toying with him, hoping to wear the 'little boy' out eventually. Haku couldn't have that. He had to be helping the others - especially Loki, who had almost no chakra control whatsoever.

On the _other _hand, he had been perfecting a certain move for quite a while now.

There was little water around, but Haku could sense a small stream not far away from the clearing. It couldn't be too efficient, but he'd have to work with what was at hand.

Thin trickles of water slithered across the ground and sprang into the air, forming solid, glittering rectangles. There wasn't enough time or water to make many, but Haku didn't need a lot.

The female Hunter looked startled, then shocked, then horrified (or at least she _would _have, if it wasn't for the mask) as she saw mirrors of ice surrounding her, enclosing her in a cold dome of terror. An image of Haku appeared in the ice, repeating over and over again, until there was a Haku staring at the unfortunate Hunter from all the directions.

"You're… you're…" the woman gasped as realization dawned. "A Bloodline Trait monster…"

Those were the last words she ever said.

In the center of the clearing, amid an army of water clones, Zabuza was fighting the oldest and the strongest of the Hunters in a hand-to-hand combat. There was a lot of sword-clashing, clone-swapping and swearing involved.

"You were a clever bastard," the Hunter nin growled, "but this time you're going DOWN!"

"Don't count on it!" yelled Zabuza, one of his replications showing his opponent the finger, "You expect the _Demon _of the _Mist _to lose to this pathetic snotty-nosed trash you brought along?"

Clash! Cling! Slam!

It went on for quite some time. The Hunter was very skilled; but in the end, Zabuza _was _the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

…And Loki had just been assaulted by a hail of shuriken from the Hunter she had been fighting, who had replaced himself to a spot just behind her and above her head. The girl knocked them all away, and charged at the ninja again. But this time, she had a Strategy.

It was almost like fighting those intelligent machines back at the Centre: some of them were very tricky to beat. But there was always a way out, a winning move; there was always a Strategy. The _tricky_ part was to think of it.

Loki knew that the ninja was probably going to use the Substitution and Replacement Jutsu to get behind her back again. She knew this trick from her training with Haku and Zabuza, and she wasn't falling for it the second time. (Not that she fell for it the first time. She did it deliberately, of _course_. Just to make the Hunter think he was so smart. Yes, that's what it was, absolutely. She was totally _not _tricked. What?)

The move she wanted to perform now, however, was quite complicated. Loki was going to strike the man above her with the claws on her hand (knowing that she'd hit another block of wood), while _at the same time_ slashing the ninja that would reappear behind her with the claws on her _feet_.

Given, of course, that he'd reappear behind her. But that'd be no problem, would it. For some reason, humans always thought that _no one _would expect them to reappear _behind_ a person. (Besides, there was no more above left to transport to.)

Loki struck.

Her claws sliced a block of wood.

The Hunter reappeared behind her. For a moment, he was unpleasantly surprised. He didn't expect the _other _set of claws…

* * *

The fight was finally over. One of the Hunters tried, too late, to get away and send out for help, but he didn't get very far. 

Zabuza, Haku and Loki were now standing over the beaten bodies. Zabuza prodded one of them with the tip of his boot.

"Bunch of amateurs…" he muttered under his breath. "How could they even let trash like that become shinobi…?"

"Why would they send such weak warriors after you if they knew you're so powerful?" asked Loki, watching Zabuza watch the bodies. "Didn't they have anyone stronger on their squad?"

"Probably did," the man answered. "But the Hunter-nin don't just sit around in one place waiting for job offers, they often prowl all around the country looking for rebels and deserters. You wouldn't believe how many people leave those sorry places every year… The trackers do have means of communicating with their villages, though, and I expect some would always be around for specific orders… But others often spend most of their lifetimes running around doing investigations. I expect these…" he nudged the dead Hunter with his boot again, "…were also a part of such a squad... Though, frankly, I'm rather amazed that punks such as these could even find our trail…" Zabuza continued after a pause. "Must've happened by accident or something."

Haku just stood over the fallen ninja, thoughtful.

"We should burry them," he said after a while.

"Yes." Zabuza decided not to argue. It would be a lot more kind than what the Hunters would do to _them_ had they won, but Momochi didn't much care about things that hadn't happened. Which was something he had to thank this new girl for.

He glanced at Loki. If it hadn't been for her…

"Hey, girl."

Loki caught his eye, startled by the fact that she was being addressed by her master.

"Well done, warning us about the Hunter-nin." Then, feeling that something else was needed, Zabuza added, "Good job."

Momochi wasn't much good with praises. He felt that a smile was also in order, so he twitched the corners of his mouth upwards just enough for it to be visible through the bandages.

Loki felt pride bubble up inside her chest at these words. She also felt blood rushing to her face. She _also _felt like running laps around the clearing screaming with joy all the way. But what ticked her off was that she didn't know _what _exactly made her feel all that… all… that. Zabuza was just a human, after all. Humans were bastards. They weren't supposed to make her feel so… tingly inside. Well, they _did _make her feel tingly inside, but it had always been a _different _kind of tingly. It was an angry kind of tingly, and this was, this was, well, a happy kind of tingly… in a way. He _praised _her. Loki didn't often get praised. And the thought that she was useful to someone, that she did her best and succeeded, the thought that her efforts were finally _appreciated _by someone (even if it was a stinking human) made her feel… grateful. Made her want to wag her tail and lick his face, and…

Loki decided to just stop where she was and not let her mind wander. So she had been praised by a human, big whoop. She had almost forgotten her main objective, which was finding her pack. She only tagged along with these ninja for that, after all. So there was no need to get all… tingly… about a human. About a _stinking _human, she corrected herself.

Loki suddenly became aware that Zabuza was speaking to her again.

"…you wanted a headband, didn't you?" the man said, his usual harsh, barking tone back in his voice.

"Eh?"

Zabuza was holding a Mist Village headband, which had been taken by him from one of the fallen Hunters. "Didn't you want a headband, girl? Well, here you go! You earned it." And he tossed it to the werewolf.

Loki caught it uncertainly. "But… but I thought I had to graduate from somewhere to get one, didn't I?" she asked suspiciously. You just never knew with humans.

"Congratulations, you have just graduated from Zabuza Momochi's Academy of Ninja Arts and Combat," Zabuza recited in a sarcastic kind of tone and rolled his eyes at the girl. Women and formalities.

Loki was still observing the headband. It belonged to the Hunter she had been fighting. His odour would linger for quite a while… The girl noticed Zabuza giving her a what-aren't-you-happy kind of look. She really didn't want to seem ungrateful (especially considering that it was _her _who had wanted a headband in the first place), but it was just that…

"I… I don't think I can wear that. It has the scent of that Hunter-nin all over it." Loki looked apologetic. Werewolves weren't humans, but they had their own morals.

Zabuza suddenly felt a great and inexplicable surge of generosity, which happened very rarely (and had to be exploited while it lasted). It had been a great day, and that treat therapy stuff seemed to really work. He untied his own headband.

"Would you mind _my _scent, then?" he asked, his eyes laughing.

Loki felt the blood return to her ears. There went her insides, feeling all tingly again, the traitors. What was it with her today?

"Yes… I mean, no! I mean…" Loki was flushing like crazy. That never happened before. It was so bloody _stupid_.

"Well then… you can wear mine." Zabuza tied his own headband over Loki's forehead, and took the one she was holding. He had no idea why he was doing this. Then again, life was a random thing. Not all actions had to make sense. He did, for instance, catch Haku's rabbit once when it had been trying to run away. He didn't have to, but he had caught it and had given it back to the boy nevertheless. Sometimes people just… _did _things like that. Even people like him. And there didn't have to be an explanation.

And if anyone deserved favours from Zabuza Momochi, Haku and Loki sure as hell did.

Meanwhile, Loki was already showing off her prize to Haku. She found that she was, despite herself, quite proud to wear something of Zabuza's around her head – a troubling thought, if you thought about it from a werewolf's point of view.

* * *

That night, Loki fell asleep with Zabuza's headband pressed tight against her cheek. 

**End Chapter! **My my, Loki's feeling all tingly inside at the thought of Zabuza… whatever could that mean. ;)


	11. Obsession

**_Author's Note:_** Chapter eleven released, and it's all yours to read and comment on, my dear readers! xD I just noticed that I got into double digits already, wow O.O And I'm not even close to being done… I hope I can go through with writing the whole thing…

Blah, less talk, more story. X3 Enjoy, my awesome faithful readers, for all meh hard work ish for you. :3

_**11. Obsession**_

Just to be on the safe side of things, Zabuza decided to avoid all and any villages for the time being. The woods in the area were vast and dense, and would provide great shelter. As for his new employers… well, if they'd lasted _that _long without his assistance, they could certainly wait a little longer. Zabuza just wasn't in the mood for any further grand risks and Hunter-nin episodes.

In the meantime, the man had decided that he would continue training his apprentices. They had plenty of spare time on their hands while they were waiting out any more possible searches; and Zabuza wasn't going to allow his trainees to just waste away the precious days. Tools had to be polished and sharpened regularly in order to stay in top shape. And Zabuza was _good_ at sharpening.

And Loki was _not _good with the stupid tingly feeling. After the day they had fought the Hunter-nin it just wouldn't go away. It penetrated her thoughts, conquering her mind; but not in that loud, crashing manner that the wolf-feeling had always used to take over. It was a gradual and invading way, rather like water trickling into an underground cavern. The process was slow and steady, but eventually the cavern _would _fill up.

It was like a disease. And it was already getting out of hand, because Loki was having quite a bit of trouble trying to keep these ridiculous new thoughts under control. That infuriated her. It had never happened before. She had always been the master of her mind… well, more or less. But this was just…

…Sometimes Loki managed not to think about Zabuza for one whole hour straight, which always took a _lot_ of restraint and self-control. However, even while her mind might not have been _strictly _on the subject of the eyebrowless male, the wolf-girl often found her fascinated gaze lingering over his oiled muscles on its own accord. And mysteriously enough, no matter what direction Loki took whenever she went out for walks on her free time, the roads always seemed to lead to wherever Zabuza was at the moment; and the girl just couldn't help but steal occasional glimpses of him doing one-handed push-ups from the bushes in secret. It was most embarrassing. Loki didn't know what to do with herself.

She even tried swapping headbands with Zabuza again, with a secret little hope that the man's forehead protector and her thoughts of him were somehow interconnected and would go away once she traded back. Thus, after one of the particularly successful practices (and when the ninja was in a more or less contented mood), Loki approached him and said that she was really sorry for the interruption and didn't want to seem ungrateful, but she felt very uncomfortable about wearing his headband, because it was, um, err, well, _his_. And she would be very much obliged if he let her have the other headband back, because she didn't feel quite right about taking _his_ stuff. And um. And er. And she blushed, and felt like a complete idiot for what felt like the fiftieth time during that day.

Zabuza, who had been resting in the shadow cast by a large oak tree not far off, gave her an odd look. Then, deciding that there was nothing wrong with the girl wanting to return something that didn't belong to her, the Jounin untied the blue strip he had been wearing around his head and outstretched a receiving hand in Loki's direction.

"You're weird, you know that?" Zabuza asked the rhetorical question as the headbands switched hands.

He then watched a furiously-blushing Loki retreat into the safety of the bushes nearby, and wondered if she'd been out in the sun for too long.

* * *

Meanwhile, Haku had things of his own to think about. There was a thought that just wouldn't leave him alone. It was always there, on the threshold of his understanding, and it kept knocking quietly but persistently on the door of his mind. And because Haku was the sort that liked his thoughts sorted out, he dedicated his free time (which there wasn't a lot of, by the way) to trying to figure this one out. He had a feeling that it was somehow _important_. 

It was a memory of something that had happened. It had happened not so long ago, in fact. A small thing. Haku kept re-playing all of the most recent events over and over in his head trying to find that one small thing as he tagged along after Loki on one of her usual mysterious exploration tours.

Loki. Yes, it was about her. It was something she'd said earlier. Back in the tavern, when she had attacked that man, she'd said something, now what was it again? Ah, yes. Something about a 'damn filthy human'. He completely agreed with her on the 'damn' and 'filthy' parts, of course, but why had she used the word 'human'? There was a great big colourful variety of juicy swearwords that would sound so nicely at the end of a phrase (not that Haku would know), but Loki had picked 'human'. Why 'human'? He had never heard people addressing other people as 'humans' before. It was true. They could call each other pigs, dogs, tin-heads and even saucy lily-livered pantaloons, but never _humans _(even if it _was _the most technically correct name to use). It was very strange. It was very unnatural. It was a very weird thing to say indeed.

It was definitely something to wander about. And so Haku wandered.

* * *

In the meantime, the training was going well. 

There was a small pond near the three renegades' current campsite. Haku often spent many an hour there, perfecting his older techniques and inventing new ones: faster, deadlier and even more horribly creative ways of killing people with water. Oh, he didn't take joy in the violence itself; it was just when he found himself around large bodies of water, Haku simply couldn't help himself. It was like giving a pyromaniac a box of matches. Whenever the kid got near a lake, a pond or simply a large puddle of water, something inside his head just went 'click', and Haku went all… _inventive_. There was no telling of what he would come up with next.

It was at times like this that even Zabuza preferred to leave his apprentice alone and concentrate on other things instead. And now, with the appearance of Loki on his team, Momochi was left with absolutely no reason to complain about the lack of such things.

And Loki couldn't remember ever enjoying her training as much as she did these days. The girl wanted to give it her all now that she had Zabuza's full attention, and she was ready to practice day and night just to get another smile or praise out of the man. Loki was trying to convince herself that she was only doing it because she wanted recognition; because she was _expected_ to do great and she simply didn't want to let Zabuza down. And that it had nothing whatsoever to do with the stupid tingly feeling, which was being very difficult in these matters. Loki had to work twice as hard now just to keep her thoughts off Zabuza's very prominently masculine features (_facial_ features, of course. Not what _you_ thought).

All in all, it was good for her training. Now that all one hundred percent of Loki's pure furious concentration went into mastering new Taijutsu techniques, Zabuza was finding it harder and harder to keep coming out on top in their every combat. Loki's Taijutsu was becoming a fearsome thing indeed.

The girl was also beginning to gain control over her chakra, at long last. She still felt very insecure in these unfamiliar grounds: her performance was sloppy, her stance was completely off and she kept screwing up even on the simplest hand-sign sequences, but it was a start nevertheless. Zabuza would have also found it a very entertaining show to watch if he hadn't been the one getting hit with random flying-by log fragments when one of Loki's miserable attempts at the Replacement Jutsu went wrong yet again. Being Loki's Ninjutsu instructor wasn't a very funny thing to be doing at all.

Hell, at least she was being obedient this time.

* * *

On one of their training sessions, Zabuza tried teaching Loki a simple chakra-controlling exercise. Well, it was simple for _him_, in any case. It was an exercise every ninja had to master at some point during his lifetime before continuing on to much more difficult and exciting moves. It involved climbing a tree using one's feet only, and it was something very painful to execute if your chakra-control was almost inexistent. Therefore it wasn't very surprising that after about an hour of fruitless attempts of getting to the nearby oak's lowest branch, Loki had to take a break and was now sitting dejectedly in the tree's shadow, clutching her head. 

Zabuza was looming over the girl, glaring menacingly.

"You aren't concentrating hard enough! How difficult is it to learn such a simple drill?" the man was yelling, having just as much control over his temper as Loki had over her chakra.

Loki flushed and descended even further into her gloom. It was bad enough to find out that she was worse than humans at something after all, let alone have Zabuza be angry with her. But she couldn't just give in. She'd show him up yet. She was a werewolf, dammit! It was amazing how that thought always gave her an energy boost to go on.

Loki sprang up to her feet, last tinges of her headache dispersing like smoke in the wind. What was happening to her? She used to be able to go on for hours, bashing battle-machines back at the Centre without as much as breaking a sweat, and now she couldn't even take something as insignificant as falling on her head only a couple hundred of times. Now, she had to take a break like a sissy whiny little human girl. Where had all her infamous endurance gone? No, she'd been hanging around in human company for way too long. Their lack of stamina and constant need for rest were contagious like a disease.

The proud wolf-girl had to brace herself. She _could _do it. She took a few steps backwards from the spot where she had just been sitting, and focused. Zabuza also stepped back, folding his arms on his chest and glaring, as usual.

Everything went very still. A bird chirruped. A bumblebee flew by. A gentle breeze whooshed in the grass. Haku's rabbit gnawed on a celery stalk somewhere in the nearby bushes. Loki breathed in. Loki breathed out.

"Think on starting anytime this year?" Zabuza asked, losing even _more _patience, if that was still possible.

Loki's muscles drew tight. She felt something like a weak current of warmth fill up the bottoms of her heels. She sure hoped she wasn't imagining it. Finally, unable to wait any longer, the girl rushed towards the tree like an unwound spring. She darted up the rough-barked trunk at a running start, but soon the momentum was lost and the pull of gravity won yet another battle against Loki's chakra.

"Again! Again!" barked Zabuza, but there was no need for further prodding. Loki was already in the very heat of defending the pride of her heritage. Her head close to exploding from all the pain, she was stubbornly getting up to her feet.

The wolf-girl tried "again and again", each time summoning her chakra more and more urgently and running like hell. Finally, on the third try, she felt slight tingling in her feet as they made contact with the tree's bark. The faint warmth turned into much stronger heat as Loki scurried upwards, her legs a blur. She could even smell it now – a thin, but very pleasant reddish-golden trail of scent. The scent of chakra.

Loki was so overwhelmed by her success that in all the excitement she forgot to hold her concentration and slipped, falling onto her shoulders into yet another painfully awkward position. She had barely made it past the tree's first branch. The scent of her chakra was already dissipating into the atmosphere.

Zabuza helped Loki into a standing position by pulling on her arm.

"Finally, some progress here!" he grinned through his bandages. "Good luck getting to the top of the tree, now!"

And Momochi sat down a few feet away, smirking, and prepared to watch the show. Teaching Loki chakra control was turning out to be quite fun after all, given that no flying-by log fragments were involved.

Meanwhile, Loki looked the large oak up and down, and got a sudden and irresistible urge to punch her trainer. She tried again but did worse this time, the trail of chakra scent down to a slim golden thread. Loki was hopeless. It was so embarrassing. Why, _why_ couldn't she get the hang of this?

All right, it _had _to be this time. Loki caught a glimpse of Zabuza becoming more interested in a large black beetle climbing up his knee rather than watching his inept student fail yet again. Oh no you don't, she thought angrily. This time I'll do it right and you _will _praise me, you sure as hell will!

Loki focused, fists clenched and face screwed up in livid concentration. Her eyes narrowed, becoming slits of angry green. She could do this. She could _do _this. Come on, come _on! _

In the end, complete and utter determination did its job. Concentrating until her temples hurt, Loki finally began to feel the chakra build up in her feet, the scrawny golden thread of scent slowly turning into a powerful gust of energy. A few more minutes trickled away into eternity, and then… that was it. The girl was ready… or so she hoped.

Zabuza looked up as he sensed a sudden surge of chakra, and turned to see the girl running higher and higher up the tree-trunk. She was already past the first branch, and the second, and the fifth, but she kept going on.

The Jounin got up to his feet and came to stand under the oak to get a better view. To say the least, he was pleasantly surprised. That was an unexpected development… Who would've thought? The girl turned out to have a lot of potential, after all. And he had known it all along, of course. He knew the _whole_ time that under his guidance and strict, methodical instruction Loki would turn into an amazing chakra-user to someday make him proud…

Zabuza wondered if she was actually going to reach the top of the tree all in one go…

…But apparently Loki's chakra control just wasn't meant to be. She was halfway through to the top when she suddenly felt Zabuza staring at her back; and the tingly feeling, muffled by days and days of patient work and intentional not thinking about the way Zabuza's eyes gleamed in the firelight, chose the worst time imaginable to shatter its already rather weak shackles and break out free. All the concentration was lost as blood rushed to the girl's cheeks; the chakra flow ceased as the thought process took a different course, and… Loki plunged tumbling backwards out of the sombre green heights.

Zabuza broke Loki's fall by grabbing her shoulders just before she crashed onto his head, unable to retaliate, and both of them toppled over onto the grass, rolling in a huddle of arms, legs, oak twigs and bandages. After they had finally come to a stop amidst a cluster of raspberry bushes, it took them a couple of moments to recover from the shock.

Loki was the first one to come to her senses; but her first daze was quickly replaced by a second one as she found both her shoulders gripped protectively by Zabuza's powerful hands and her face pressed tightly against the man's chest. Her nose took in his scent, and there was a short, pleasant moment of bliss before Loki's mind fully absorbed the entire picture. The girl's first impulse was to scream and pull away, but the intoxicating feeling of Zabuza's body so close to her had rendered the girl powerless, making her limbs numb and her back convulsing under a wave of sudden, powerful tingles. So she just lay motionless where she was, and there was another blissful moment of personal heaven.

Unfortunately, it only lasted a couple of seconds. Much too soon, Zabuza opened his eyes and pushed Loki away, glaring.

"You really suck at this, you know," he grunted, sitting up and rubbing his temple.

And the blissful cloud of paradise vanished in a blink. Loki came back to Earth with an unpleasant 'bump'.

Oh, for gods' sakes, she thought grumpily a few minutes later, as they headed back to their spacious but badly-constructed willow-branch shelter for a spot of water. What stupid thoughts. Zabuza was only attempting to stop her from falling, or rather trying to avoid getting a concussion. It was an _instinctive_ movement. Stupid feelings. He was a damn human. She couldn't go around developing _feelings _for humans. Loki slammed a fist into the ground as she kneeled beside the water canteen. No. She will win.

She ran out of the shack and in the direction of the pond, stuck her head into the cold, refreshing water and held it there for so long that Haku came running to her from the other side of the lagoon where he had been practicing, frightened that the girl would drown herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zabuza was getting restless. On one hand, he realized that the Hunter Ninja's disappearance would by now already be noted by the Water Country's general military corps, and thus there were _bound _to be more Hunters on his trail this very moment. On the _other _hand, if he hung around being cautious in the woods for too long, his potential employers would quickly find him a replacement. There were plenty of other assassins roaming the lands of this corrupted country. Zabuza might have been the finest, but he was certainly not the only one. 

He had to do _something_. Except that there wasn't much he _could _do.

After some careful thinking, a little plotting and a lot of weighing of cons and pros, Zabuza finally came up with what seemed like a suitable plan. Since they were constantly on the move anyway, they might as well advance towards their next destination, the Unseen Village of Twin Rivers, without much diversion. This village was where Zabuza's employers were currently residing. Or that was where he had been told to come, in any case. So that was where he would go.

Of course, there were bound to be other villages and towns on the way. And where there were towns, there were Hunter-nin. However, Zabuza had that point covered as well. The Hunters, the ANBU and all those other ranks, classes and divisions of ninja warriors knew him well enough in the face, but he doubted that any of them would remember the scrawny, pale-faced little kid that never talked a lot and tagged along with him everywhere. And they had never met Loki at all, so there was no way they would possibly suspect…

…Oh, yes. It was flawless and so perfectly simple, just like everything else ingenious.

Zabuza was going to send Haku and Loki on spying missions. The kids would go out of the forest, pretending to be picking flowers, frolicking around in the sun or whatever it was that their sick, inventive little minds could come up with. They would scan the nearby area for Hunter-nin and then, if the surroundings proved Hunter-free, they would all move further on their way. If there _were_ annoying scavengers around, well… they would either fight or pick another way, depending on the urgency of the situation and the enemy's skill level.

For some reason, Zabuza remembered his disastrous attempt at the assassination of the Mizukage. He had been badly wounded after all those battles, and Haku had needed to go out and search for medications or healing herbs to help the man's mending. The boy had had to disguise himself somehow, and that was when the whole idea of him dressing up as a girl came into play. Of course, who would suspect a quiet, feeble-looking village girl in a pink kimono and a basket of flowers to be a deadly, highly-dangerous _male _ex-Hunter-nin sneaking around undercover? Haku had hated it, as Zabuza recalled now with a faint smirk, but he had gone along with it anyway, because it was the only risk-free way. And people always, _always _fell for it…

With the presence of Loki on their team, however, there would no longer be any need for Haku to dress as a girl, of course. That was just too bad. Seeing the boy grimace in disgust as he was putting on lip-gloss or eye-liner was too good of a show to be discontinued. Zabuza wasn't much of a joker himself, but he sure as hell enjoyed a good laugh. He sighed. Oh well. The little bugger would be delighted, though, the man knew.

Haku was very happy indeed. When the new plan was announced, he seemed to _radiate_ joy and sunshine, and felt like hugging both Loki and the rabbit to near death at the bright new prospect of a make-up-less and dress-free future. It seemed almost too good to be true. No more face-putty! No more girly acting! And he could finally cut his hair! …Well, on second thought, perhaps the hair could stay. Haku was just too used to it by now to bother doing something about it. Besides, it wasn't like there was anyone around to _tease_ him about it, anyway.

…Unfortunately, all good things have to end. And so did Haku's newfound freedom. It was most disappointing to find out that Loki and kimonos just… didn't go together.

The first time Zabuza saw the girl dressed up in Haku's old pink outfit with flowers, he just couldn't help himself but laugh out loud. It wasn't that Loki wasn't _womanly_ enough to wear a kimono; it was just that she looked so… so… out of place in it. It was difficult to explain how exactly, but it was just so obvious that she had never worn a kimono or any other kind of dress at all in her entire lifetime. Loki had quite a good figure for a thirteen-year-old, exercising as much as she had; but she had always seemed so inexplicably _wild_, like a savage beast or some sort of forest warrior. She looked more like the type to be found swinging from branch to branch on a liana, with a knife in her teeth or a battle-cry, rather than going around in a pretty dress, picking flowers and appearing weak. It was like putting a frilly pink bowtie on a scruffy, grumpy-looking wolf dog, and calling it Cutesy.

In other words, Loki looked so awkward and… odd in a girl's kimono that she'd certainly attract plenty of attention in a village. She _could _go on scouting missions in the forest, where no one was around to see her; but whenever the need to explore a nearby town arose, Haku (with much disgust and inner resentment) had to take on the job.

It rather saddened and amused Zabuza at the same time to know that even now that they had an actual _girl _on their team, Haku's acting skills were still required.

Meanwhile, Loki had cautiously entertained the idea of doing some independent spying disguised as a wolf. It was an interesting thought; in her animal form, Loki would look just like any ordinary large dog and cause little suspicion on the streets or in the forest; while her human companions didn't necessarily have to know what kind of camouflage she used when she was… away. It also provided her with a good excuse to search for any traces of her clan, as a matter of fact, and a long time for doing that.

However, Loki eventually dismissed the idea. Whenever Haku was away scouting, Zabuza wouldn't let her out of his sight; moreover, there was the slim chance of either him or Haku stumbling onto her transforming. Divulging the secret of her heritage to the two ninja was out of question, and Loki couldn't take chances with that. Besides, as ashamed as she was of admitting it to herself, Loki was now a lot more keen on spending more time hanging around Zabuza rather than pointlessly roaming the neighbourhood.

Little did she know that things weren't going to go quite the way she had been intending them to. Fate had decided that it was time for a… _change_.

**End Chapter! **Loki's getting obsessed with Zabuza, but she's in complete denial. x3 And no, she won't become a great and powerful chakra-user, because I don't like making my characters those good-at-everything,-strong-smart-and-beautiful perfect types. Come on, they have to be losers at _something_, no? x3

And DON'T ask about saucy lily-livered pantaloons. Just… don't.


	12. Suspicions

**_Author's Note:_** Chapter twelve up :D It's called _Suspicions_, although perhaps _Nightmares _would have been a more suitable name for it, lol xP I guess I must've been in my Steven Spielberg mood, with a mixture of _House_ (if you watch this show) when I wrote this… xp Oh my. That's what happens when you read too much "Night Watch"… o.O

_FaithsWings_-- Heh heh. x3 -pats self on back- I just don't like it when people say things about Haku, like that he's girly or a transvestite or something. They don't even wonder what his real reasoning for dressing up as a girl might have been. So I just wanted to clear things up a bit. :3 Oh, and these are their current ages: Haku's 11, Loki's 13 and Zabuza's 22.

_White Lioness_-- Loki's only got two constant "shapes": one, when she looks/seems like a normal human (forget her whole 'I'm proud to be a werewolf' issue), and her other form, when she is a wolf – that's when she's just sort of like a very intelligent animal; except on the full moon, when she's just like a very _rabid_ animal. So she can stay as either a human or a wolf. But… if she's really upset (or if she's around a lot of blood), she starts developing some wolfish features, like her claws and fangs grow, her eyes change or her sense of smell increases. But that's just a transitional stage, meaning that she can't stay this way for long, and soon afterwards she'll either calm down and return to her human-shape, or she'll finish the transformation and go rabid wolf on everyone. X3 So it's not really like a third "shape"… Are you confused yet? O.o (Because I am… sort of… and I'm the one writing this fic. Waaah, I'm pathetic, I know! TToTT)

_Everybody else_--TTAW's up to 2600+ hits! xD I thank you all for the time and attention. X3 Enjoy chapter twelve:D

_**12. Suspicions**_

Chilly northern winds combed the morning air more and more often now that summer in the Water Country was coming to an end. The cold was still bearable enough to live under the open skies, but the thought of finding reliable shelter sometime soon had already crossed Zabuza's mind more than once. The renegade was as tough and proud as they came; however, even he knew better than to underestimate his land's harsh climate.

They were almost near the Village of Twin Rivers now. There were no more unpleasant encounters with the Hunter Ninja on the way, so Zabuza decided that he and his team were relatively safe. For the time being.

Nevertheless, Zabuza wasn't in _too_ great of a hurry to return to civilization. Momochi was never a 'people' kind of person. For him, Haku and Loki were enough of a crowd.

* * *

And in the meantime, Loki was losing a desperate battle against Mother Nature. It couldn't even be called a true _battle_… That rough bass voice and those deep, dark, ever-glaring eyes… Poor Loki never stood a chance. All that was left for her now was to admit defeat; and the once-proud female-werewolf was currently busy doing just that by confessing her feelings to the indifferently-silent surface of a nearby pond.

"So, I think he's a little attractive for a human," Loki was grumbling sullenly at no one in particular. "So what's the big deal? It's not like it's a crime to _like_ humans…"

She paused, contemplating what she had just said. _'Like'_ and _'humans'_ together in a sentence without any violent verbs to separate them still made her shudder a little. Werewolves had a very, _very _hard time letting go of certain concepts.

"Alright, I admit that I _like_ him…" Loki muttered after a while, scowling at her own sulking reflection and feeling like a loser. "And don't look at me like that! It's _your _fault as much as mine!"

The girl punched the image of herself frowning up from the depths of the pond with an angry fist, sending muddy ripples across the placid surface. At the same time, she heard a rustle and a crash as a bundle of navy-blue fell flailing through the reeds. Loki whirled around in time to see Haku getting to his feet amidst a heap of broken bulrush stems. Too late, her nostrils sent little tingling alarms to her brain, but her eyes had already beaten them to it. Pupils narrowing, Loki bit her lip. Haku was here? Damn, damn, damn! How much could he have overheard? She _really_ should have taken out those nose-filters before confiding private information to the forest at large!

Meanwhile, Haku dusted off his clothes and approached his team-mate cautiously. The sudden accusation had caught him by surprise, causing him to lose all his delicately-acquired-among-the-dense-reeds balance and fall out into the clearing. Not that Haku had been intending to eavesdrop. He had just been passing by, looking for Loki, and was startled by her angry voice. _Anyone_ would have fallen over from an exclamation like that, especially if it was uttered by Loki and _especially _if they knew how scary she could be when she was angry. The image of the drunkard from that pub being chased screaming down the street was still fresh in Haku's mind.

Nevertheless, Haku was curious, and slightly confused. Who could it be that Loki liked, and how was it _his_, Haku's, fault?

"Err… Loki? W-were you yelling at me?" he asked uncertainly. You _always _had to make sure first, just in case.

Loki was staring up at him, blushing so hard that she could easily replace the red signal in a traffic light.

"No, I… I wasn't yelling at anyone… in particular. Just… just yelling." Loki decided not to go into detailed explanations about scowling reflections, annoying tingly feelings and inner voices that got on her nerves. This would just spawn new conversation topics, and Loki didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Right now, she just wanted Haku to go away. Right now, she just wanted to be left alone in her miserable defeat.

"Oh… I understand," said Haku, who didn't understand. He _did _realize one thing though, and that was that his presence wasn't wanted. Oh well. The boy lived with Zabuza and knew that everybody needed their alone-times every once in a while. He was used to that.

Haku muttered a 'later!' and turned to leave. Loki sat for a moment, staring at his back and biting her lip. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell someone, _anyone_. Perhaps _that _would make her feel better. Perhaps _that_ would ease the throbbing inside her chest somewhat. Anyone who'd listen; and she didn't care whether it was a tree, her own reflection or a small human child that wouldn't understand anything anyway.

Besides, Haku seemed to know Zabuza for a very long time; longer than she did, in any case. Maybe he could advise her on what to do.

"Haku?" she called out anxiously at the boy's departing back. "Um? Could I talk… to you?"

Haku turned around at the sound of his comrade's pleading voice. He might have been dressing as a female sometimes, but he sure as heck didn't get how women's minds worked, not one bit. One second, they make it very clear that they'd rather be left to their own devices, and the next, they want you to stick around for a chat.

All right. Loki _did _seem very upset; and it would be rather impolite to leave now, when she was counting on him to stay and listen.

"Sure…"

Haku sat down on the damp grass beside the girl, giving her the okay-I'm-all-ears-now look and an encouraging smile. Encouraging smiles _always_ helped.

Loki's truth seemed short and simple. It only consisted of three small words, Haku noted; however, it took a while for the phrase's meaning to fully sink in.

Brighter than all of the world's traffic lights put together, Loki finally, after a long, loo-oo-ong pause, uttered:

"I… like Zabuza-san."

The male ninja sat there, gaping. Some sort of reaction was clearly expected of him, but he just couldn't think of anything to say. Or do. It seemed to him so… so… well… Loki liking Zabuza-san…? Loki_ liking_ Zabuza-san? _Loki… liking… Zabuza-san… _Whoa.

Well, he should have guessed. Finding Loki sulking in a huddle near a pond like that was a sure sign of astonishing truths on the verge of discovery.

But that wasn't all that surprising when you thought about it. Loki _was _a girl, after all. And as far as Haku could see, it was only natural for a teenage girl to fall head over heels for someone as strong and… masculine… as Zabuza-san.

Meanwhile Loki, suddenly overcome by inexplicable waves of sincerity and a great surge to open up, went on pouring out everything that was nagging at her mind and soul and dragging her down, lower and lower into the abyss of misery. The girl couldn't stop herself now. She was prepared to feel embarrassed, put down, humiliated in the end; but she wasn't able to break the flow of her own speech for the world. Though surprisingly enough, with each word that she said she felt lighter, as if some enormous weights were being lifted off her soul, one by one; and so she continued. Haku was patiently listening to the whole of her disrupted, senseless monologue, nodding briefly from time to time, and that reassured her.

By the end of her story, Loki knew that talking to Haku had been the right decision. The tension was long gone, and her heartache was already dispersing. The tingly feeling moved over a little, leaving some space for the other thoughts in the girl's mind. This felt strangely… pleasant.

"So, er… what should I do?" Loki asked simply after a short pause for breath.

"Wha…? Oh…" Haku was startled by the question. How should _he _know? He'd never considered himself an expert in the field of relationships between weird teenager girls and fully-grown male assassins.

"It's just that… you seem to know Zabuza-san so well. So I was just thinking…" Loki's voice trailed off, all hope draining out of it.

"Oh, well… I dunno…" Haku shrugged, racking his brains for any other, more suitable answers. The boy really wanted to help out his friend but he honestly didn't know what to do in situations like that. "You could try talking to him, I guess," he said after a while. That was his way of getting out of this uncomfortable conversation without actually revealing Zabuza's personal information. Not that Haku didn't trust Loki, but… it would be better if whatever she found out about Zabuza came from the man himself, and not from his younger subordinate.

Loki stared at Haku with a strange mixture of amusement, annoyance and disbelief. "Talk to _Zabuza-san_? _Talk _to Zabuza-san? Can you actually imagine somebody sitting down and trying to have a chat with _Zabuza-san_?"

Haku sighed. It did sound a bit absurd if you knew the infamous Demon of the Mist personally for more than an hour.

Well, Haku was _trying _to be helpful.

"Well… you could ask him about the techniques that he knows," the young Mist Nin struggled. "Like… the Water Jutsu. And pretend to be really-really interested. Yeah… Just ask him whether they're difficult to perform, and how long did it take for him to learn them, and, you know, things like that. Master likes to... well, to _boast _a little every once in a while, you know… So… you'll have no problem, just as long as it doesn't look like you're prying." Haku watched Loki's face carefully as he said that last bit. "That sort of thing can get him paranoid, and you don't want that. But otherwise… you _do _still need help with your chakra, so you could use _that_ as your reason for asking."

Haku realized that right now he was giving out lots of potentially dangerous information that could successfully be used against him and Zabuza-san in the future… but you could only not trust a person for that long. Though if Loki _did_ try to run away with their secrets, she wouldn't get far in any case. Not from the Demon of the Hidden Mist, she wouldn't.

In the meantime, Loki was carefully considering the boy's suggestions. The idea of an actual calm conversation with her eyebrowless wonder (an interaction _not_ involving any yells, curses and death-threats of various degrees) sounded rather tempting. Even if it _was _highly unlikely to happen, and would be about unimportant stuff anyway.

Though overall, if you thought about it, it seemed like a good idea. And she wouldn't even have to _pretend _to be interested in what Zabuza had to say.

"Thank you," Loki half-smiled at a fretful-looking Haku. She had a sudden, momentary urge to hug him for being so helpful and understanding and not laughing at her… but then the moment passed, and the urge was gone. The shattered remains of Loki's dignity still wouldn't allow her to hug a human, no matter how helpful and understanding he might have been.

And then Haku beamed back; a warm, gentle smile. The kind of smile that reassured you and said, "I'm gonna be there for you no matter what". The kind of smile that only the best of friends could share. And the kind of smile that always got you so _well_ out of awkward situations. But at that exact moment in time Loki realized that she truly _had _made a friend. The first real friend, for the first time in her life.

Loki would have hugged him now, but she was already feeling too discomfited about this whole ordeal of a confession, and didn't want to make herself suffer even worse. At any rate, if she blushed any harder, she would have probably become the proud creator of a whole new shade of dark-red.

* * *

August was coming to an end. Autumn was quick to grasp Water Country into its cold, leaky clutches. Clear sunny days were soon replaced by grey, rainy gloom from morning till night, and fierce northern winds raided the blackened forest with ever-growing anger. And the moon was gradually rounding out each night, slowly but mercilessly revealing more and more of its pale, bloodthirsty face.

Pale moon against the damp, dismal sky.

Loki was staring up at it, the ever-increasing pool of silver light reflected in each of her big, olive-green eyes, and remembered, with a shudder and a soft tinge of guilt, about the dreadful nights to come. Nights full of pain, madness, blood and oblivion. Nights when she couldn't tell left from right, up from down and friend from foe. And Loki trembled with fear and disgust at the thought of what might happen if she didn't get far enough from the two of her companions in time.

The usual near-full-moon worries.

It was funny, in an unfunny sort of way, that a werewolf actually cared about what happened to a bunch of sorry humans. Especially if she was going to abandon them, anyway.

Loki shook her head, embracing her own shoulders as if to protect herself from the gale and block out the outside world. Haku and Zabuza weren't sorry humans. They were humans all right, but they weren't sorry. Or pathetic. Or weak. And she wasn't going to abandon them. Not yet, anyway.

And not ever, perhaps. Unless she found her pack, that was. But considering all the efforts she was putting into searching for her possibly-existing family, Loki doubted that she would ever find anyone or anything at all. And the most sickeningly frightening question arose treacherously from the depths of her mind – did it all really matter? Was it even worth searching?

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, of course. She had already gotten out of hand, going soft and developing feelings for human scumbags. She had to hide her own identity from them in fear for her life, the pride of her bloodline turned into something shameful and disgusting. This wasn't the best possible way of spending your one and only lifetime, and if there were any potentially better options whatsoever, then they definitely deserved a shot. And wasn't a life with no insecurities, a life with those like yourself around you, from whom you wouldn't have to hide in shadowy corners whenever your true nature began to sprout from your jaws and fingertips, the best option there ever could be?

_Yes_, the moon sneered down coldly from behind its thick, grey veil of rain clouds._ Dream all you want, foolish little girl, but don't count on it to ease your struggles, or change your life. Happiness won't drop down on you from the sky like a great big brick if you just sit around doing nothing but dreaming. But what else can you do? You're a weapon. A mindless, manufactured weapon. It would be easier to just accept that you're all alone in this big, _human_ world, where you don't belong and no one will ever understand. You're not the center of the stage _here_, no matter how strong you will get; and the spotlight will never, ever belong to you, because you're not like _them.

_Among humans, you will forever be an outcast._

Yes, Loki mused. How could I be so stupidly childish as to actually dream of one day being reunited with my pack, my real_ family_? No… that's just my way of escaping, my way of denying the fact that I don't fit in and trying to stay sane. But it can't really happen, because I'm not even _trying _to do anything about it. And what _can_ one achieve without trying? The world doesn't work like that, fool…

But all I need… All I am _truly _looking for is just some evidence… any evidence at all that would prove that the Chief was wrong, that _they_ really had existed… and that I'm _not _just a manufactured weapon.

* * *

_I'm _not _manufactured, _Loki thought stubbornly as she trudged along through the damp, naked branches of the undergrowth. Reddish muck stuck to her sandals, sucking her feet deeper and deeper into the ground. The sky was already dark; and in the distance, thunder rumbled dully. It was going to be a rough night in more ways than one.

The girl had left her ninja team-mates sleeping tenderly under their make-shift willow-branch shelter, ready to awaken at any soft noise or slight hint of a movement. Loki's departure, however, left them quite unperturbed. Loki was a werewolf, and werewolves moved like shadows. Swift, silent hunters… made even swifter and deadlier by the beckoning silver light of the full moon.

Loki had snuck away to transform, yet again. She was running as fast as she could now, to put as much distance between herself and her humans as possible. The dirt on her shoes dragged her down, slowing her, but Loki kept running. She was angry, anxious, ashamed and afraid all at the same time. She hadn't even known that so many emotions starting with an "a" existed, let alone being mixed together all in one to create an entirely new feeling.

A rabbit shot out from under Loki's feet, startling her. She stopped for a brief moment, watching it scuttle away, and wondered whether it was the one Haku owned.

His pet. Loki would never be anyone's pet. She was _not _going back to the Centre, or staying with any humans at all. She was going to find her pack and live like a normal werewolf.

A normal werewolf - was such a thing even possible?

Loki shook her head. Pre-agony thoughts. That was all it was. Silly thoughts to keep her mind off growing claws and sprouting fangs. How stupid. Some things can never be ignored, no matter how much you try to think about something else.

Thunder rolled tumultuously above Loki's head as she sped on. Rain came drizzling down in a whispering curtain. The girl stopped abruptly, clutching her head as a searing jolt of pain shot through her skull like a bullet. When it had subsided and her vision had cleared, Loki sniffed at the air around her. The atmosphere was thick with moisture and the pleasant smell of damp vegetation, but there was no sign of Zabuza's or Haku's scents. They were left far, far behind, which was good. Loki could now stop where she was, and prepare herself for the dreaded transformation.

The girl took off her sandals and tossed them in-between two large, moss-covered rocks, her kunoichi outfit following. In a minute, she stood completely naked under the rain, feeling cold wetness land onto her pale skin. It was not unpleasant, for her blood was boiling with the heat of anticipation.

Loki reached up to remove her nose-filters as well, and noticed, just in time, the sharp, shiny claws that were already marking the tips of her fingers.

…The full moon peered out of the clouds to hear a howl of agony ringing desperately through the woods, echoing away until it was muffled into silence by the indifferent rain.

* * *

Haku was running through the forest, breathless with terror. _Something _was on his trail. And it was _very_ hungry.

Against all logic, Haku didn't stop and turn around to knock out whatever was following him with a nice, refreshing hail of ice needles. He just kept running along through the velvety darkness, unable to scream, unable to fight, unable to do anything but run.

The darkness was watching him. It seemed alive somehow, as if there were _creatures _concealed in it right on the verge of visibility. The darkness was _breathing_. And it was creating obstacles out of thin air, anything to prevent the boy from escaping.

Tall trees were all around Haku, shaking and quivering their gnarled branches at the child, those movements having nothing whatsoever to do with the wind. The earth itself appeared to have a life of its own in this place, trembling and bucking like an untamed stallion under a rider's saddle, trying to trip Haku up, to stop him from running. Thickets of brushwood emerged out of nowhere, grabbing on to the flaps of Haku's blue kimono with their tenacious, claw-like twigs, their thorns leaving small, but annoying gashes on the boy's bare knees.

Overcome by a new wave of terror, Haku was finally beginning to realize: he wasn't getting out of this. He was slowing down already, and he could almost feel his hunter's hot, excited breath on the back of his neck. The darkness was jeering with exhilaration. The forest gave another strong shiver, this time nearly sending the ninja flying to the ground. It was all against him. This whole place was against him. The whole world wanted to see Haku stumble and fall into his predator's jaws. The boy felt tears swell up in his eyes. Why, why _him_? Why did it all have to happen to _him? _Was he really that horrible of a person for everything to hate him so--?

Suddenly, the earth under his feet exploded as a tree-root shot out of the ground and wrapped itself tightly around Haku's left ankle. The boy struggled as hard as he could against its vicelike grip, but the root was much stronger. It dragged at his foot, pulling the boy deeper and deeper into the hungry ground. Haku slashed at it angrily with a materialized-out-of-nowhere kunai knife; but more roots emerged in its place, grabbing him even tighter, drowning him even faster in the black, slimy clay.

And suddenly, Haku knew that the predator wasn't just _behind_ him. It was all around, this whole time; and the trap had clicked shut the moment he had stepped onto these wretched grounds, whenever that had happened. The forest _was _the predator, and it was after one thing only.

His _Kekkei Genkai_.

A howl rang through the thick, musty, _breathing _air. In the dark, waiting silence the sharp sound was almost tangible. And the little ninja tensed, getting ready for the final blow that would finish him off. He knew at once that it was pointless to fight, for there was no escape.

And no mercy.

…Haku sat up on his heap of pine branches, barely suppressing a scream. He was breathing hard, sweat pouring down his forehead. He had been biting his knuckles, which were now bearing the red, sore punctures of his teeth. The boy rubbed his teary eyes and wiped his nose. _Just calm down_, he told himself. He had to calm down. A nightmare… it had all been a nightmare. That was all it was. Nothing more.

And only then Haku realized that the howl had been real. He heard another one now, very faint – apparently, whatever was making it was far away from here.

Well, good. The farther, the better.

Haku drew Zabuza's coat, which he had been using as a blanket, up to his chin and looked around their make-shift shelter, to see if anyone else had been disturbed by the creepy howl. Zabuza jerked his head abruptly, as if trying to listen without fully waking up, mumbled something about 'damn coyotes' and turned onto his other side. And Loki…

Haku leaned forward a little for a closer look. But the darkness hadn't been playing tricks on his eyes: Loki's bedding spot _was_ empty. Where could she have gone?

Lavatory, perhaps. Of course. The freaky man-eating forest was all just a figment of Haku's imagination; it couldn't have gotten Loki for _real_. Or could it? Haku gulped. _Don't be ridiculous_, he told himself quickly. Loki's just gone out because she had to _go_. She'll be back soon. And _he_ had to go back to sleep.

But sleep just didn't come. Haku stared at the gaping hole that was the entrance to their shelter, afraid that if he'll close his eyes for as much as a second, the carnivorous forest will make another attempt upon his life. It could seem rather silly to an outsider that such a skilled, clever and collected ninja as Haku was scared of some ridiculous bad dream; but when you're eleven and you awaken in a forest full of spooky howling things right after a nightmare in which the trees had been trying to _eat _you, you wouldn't find that a silly matter at all. So Haku just hugged his knees tighter and decided to wait until Loki came back. Maybe he'd feel safe enough to fall asleep when he'd see her clambering back through the willow-branch entrance.

But Loki wasn't coming back. Haku sat there, waiting tensely for what felt like ages, but there was no sign of the girl returning from whatever business she'd been up to. Haku wondered what could have been the hold up. Constipation, perhaps…? Well, that seemed like a more logical explanation, rather than intelligent Kekkei Genkai-sucking trees intercepting her on her way back… Or maybe Loki simply got lost… But no, she would just use her great sense of smell to get back to the shelter…

Unless the killer trees raised a cloud of dust with their branches to confuse and sidetrack her. And then, with their great big strangling roots, they would gag her and drag her down under the ground to devour every last ounce of her chakra, like they tried to do with him…

…_Gasp!_

All right, Haku had had enough. By now he was absolutely sure that poor, clueless Loki had gotten herself into trouble and only he, Haku, who was already completely awake, full of knowledge about the enemy and unquestionably prepared for action, could find and save her from the chakra-eating trees. (If any movie directors were around at the time, they would appreciate Haku's heroically clenched fists and the gallant glint in his puffy from sleep, but nevertheless valiantly frowning eyes.)

He felt the shuriken in their pouches on one of his legs and made sure that his kunai was ready in his sleeve. There was no need to worry about the lack of water; it had been raining tonight, so there were plenty of puddles around. Just what he needed.

Knees shaking involuntarily from a sharp twinge of nervousness, Haku crawled out from under the flimsy wooden construction. A chilling wind pierced him to the bone, and the grass, wet with rainwater, brushed uncomfortably against his bare ankles.

At least the sky was clear, the storm having ended a while ago. The moon shone down from the ringing heights, illuminating Haku's way and casting eerie shadows onto the surroundings.

"Loki?" the ninja called out into the darkness uncertainly. A soft creaking of the branches in the breeze answered his call from above. "Loki-i-i?"

He began to move cautiously towards the blackness of the sleepy woods ahead of him, half-expecting tree-roots to shoot out from under the sticky muck.

"Loki? Where are you? Lo-ki…"

Somewhere at the far left, the bushes rustled lightly. Haku stopped abruptly, listening in.

"Loki? Is that you? …_If you can't answer for whatever reason, mumble to say yes!_ Can you hear me? Loki!"

The rustling grew quiet. Haku listened for any signs of mumbling, then frowned and dashed in the direction of the noise, onwards through the thickets. He would _never _leave his friend to be devoured by a killer tree! Not even if he was scared! And especially not after all the trouble he went through to put her back on her feet the _first _time he'd found her almost dead…

Something white flounced through the brushwood ahead. It wasn't Loki, but Haku chased it out into the open anyway, overcome by curiosity and holding his breath. Eventually the shape came to a halt, allowing Haku to approach it and take a closer look. And when the boy's eyes finally descried what his small, softly-breathing chasee had been, he gave way to a short, relieved laughter. It was his rabbit.

Haku knelt down on the ground, a couple of feet away from the animal.

"Come here! I've got celery stalks," he beckoned.

The rabbit's ears twitched a bit at the word "celery", but it could tell a lie when it smelled one. Rabbits aren't as dumb as everyone thinks. Of course, if you've lived your whole life in the company of a gloomy assassin and a weird kid with great makings of a surgeon and a sadistic craze for ice needles, you manage to develop at least _some _sort of intellect, or you're hamburger patties. Thus, instead of approaching its master, the rabbit gave Haku a final wave of its fluffy white tail and was gone in the tall, whispering grasses ahead.

Haku sighed. By now, he was used to the darkness; and after being awake for such a long time, the first frightful impressions of his nightmare had been dulled somewhat. It seemed ridiculous now to him too, the thought of trees coming to life and eating innocent passers-by. Running out to look for Loki was just an over-reaction from his part. Perhaps she _did _just go out for a bit of fresh air, or… (Haku giggled at the thought) maybe she really _was_ constipated, after all.

Calmed down a little by these thoughts, Haku headed back for their shelter. Perhaps Loki had come back already, and he had been worrying for nothing.

* * *

The ninja was running down the moonlit path. He (yes, it was definitely a he) was rather in a hurry. The ninja wasn't on a mission to kill someone; nor was he after any scrolls. The ninja was a messenger. He was returning to his village to announce a task well-accomplished, and to say that his team-mates were right behind him, but they might get held up a little on the way.

The man was speeding through a dark pine forest now, barely able to wait to get home and tell everybody all about the powerful enemy that got beat by their clever, sneaky schemes and undisputed skill. Yes, tell them everything, receive awed 'ooh's and 'aah's in return and get a pat on the back from the elders. And then… and then he'd go find Satsuki-chan and re-tell her the whole story over (only with slightly more descriptive detail and sound effects); and, if he'll be lucky, she'll agree to go out for a bowl of ramen with him.

Of course, it had only been a small mission. But when you're eighteen, anything involving sneaking and fighting, or basically anything more exciting than washing the floor in somebody else's house is, well… exciting.

_The werewolf smelled the human's scent long before he had actually entered the woods. It had been lurking on the outskirts of the forest, feeling, _knowing_ in some eerie, inexplicable way that the prey would eventually come. And its uncanny sixth sense had been right. The human was hopping among the trees now, an excited young male in a hurry to get home. The werewolf tasted his scent, a bright orange wave of agitation entwined with thin purple-and-white threads of exhaustion and just a hint of green nervousness. Oh yes. He had a good reason to be nervous, indeed…_

_The werewolf rushed through the darkness silently. The lust for blood, ever-unquenchable at the full moon, drowned out everything that was human in the werewolf in daylight, all the feelings, all emotions. Even the pain. There was only one distinctive thought flashing on the inner screens of the werewolf's mind right now, and that was: "_Hunt!_"_

_And the mad, thirst-driven creature obeyed._

The ninja was becoming more and more edgy as he sped along through the forest. He didn't yet know why exactly; he simply wanted the forest to hurry up and end.

Out of the darkness, he felt someone's eyes watching him. Cold, clever, _blood-thirsty _eyes. Oh relax, he told himself. For gods' sakes, he was a _ninja_, after all! Who cared about the blood-thirsty eyes these days? There were plenty of Jutsu and seals and incantations that dealt with that sort of thing, so it was all nothing…

_The werewolf felt the human's chakra, beautiful azure fluids circulating through the man's body. He was quite strong… But that didn't matter. He was a human, and his chakra would only work against _other _pathetic human weaklings. The beast was so close to him now, tailing the human in the shadows. The werewolf was certain that the man could feel it, too, and it licked its lips in anticipation. His nervousness was increasing by the minute, clouding his judgement, making his frail little knees weaker still. _

_Soon… it will all be over soon…_

Finally, the ninja couldn't take it anymore. He hopped down onto the ground and pulled a kunai out of its pouch on his sleeve, taking a proper battle stance.

"All right, who's there?" he yelled, wincing at the sound of his own voice, which sounded like thunder among the silent trees.

There was no reply. No movement from the nearby bushes, no tell-tale rustle of the leaves or creak of the branch under someone's cautious feet. '_Great… I'm becoming paranoid for no reason now, what an embarrassment…' _The ninja hung his head in shame after realizing how cowardly it would have looked if someone was watching, and put away his kunai. Good thing Satsuki-chan wasn't around…

He was already preparing to continue on his way when he felt a… a slight change in silence behind him.

Oh dammit, the ninja thought. So, he was going to have to do it the bloody way after all…

* * *

Haku was kneeling on the damp grass beside the willow-branch shelter. He hadn't checked whether Loki was inside or not, but he didn't feel like going in himself, either. He knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway, so he'd just be disturbing Zabuza-san (and Loki, if she was already back) for nothing. So he just sat and stared at the full moon up in the skies, wondering when the night will end.

The moon sure was pretty when it was full…

For some reason, yesterday's events floated up into Haku's conscious part of the mind. Zabuza had put him through his paces thoroughly, what with Loki being sick again and the man having no one else left to torture. And after all that he was saying that _Haku _was the sadistic one…

* * *

Somewhere in the gloom, the stillness shifted. The atmosphere stirred, sending waves of blurred vision throughout the silent forest. It had been a dark night. All nights were dark, of course; but as far as darkness went, _this_ night was especially dark, despite the full moon. It was a good night for sneaking. It was a good night for things to go on a crazed rampage, tearing apart everything in their path. It was a good night for the Kallmanah Forest to prod the unstable borders between itself and the other worlds, searching for loopholes through which it could gather the powerful Energy, usually discharged in enormous quantities on such dark and bloody nights.

Through the sleepy immobility of the moonlit woods, a vine slithered with a soft hiss. A vine that didn't belong in the Land of Water. Or, for that matter, in any other land.

* * *

To somehow occupy himself throughout the long, sleepless hours, Haku attuned himself to his thinking mood. Time always seemed to pass faster if you thought about _something_, didn't matter what, rather than just staring blankly at the wall (or in Haku's case, the sky), your brain going "ba-dum, ba-dum" or "…".

Therefore, Haku sat and thought. He pondered about… anything really, like the inexplicable ways in which imagination worked, creating man-eating trees; or the possible causes of Loki's sudden illness. The latter _was_ very strange, because she appeared to be coping quite fine with all the stress up until yesterday. And yesterday she simply… came down, just like that. She couldn't _stand _properly, let alone fight… That strange weakness, as if she'd caught a flu or something…

…And had recovered from it by dinnertime already? That was hardly possible if you had flu. But it was true; Loki's immune system seemed to have gotten rid of whatever virus or infection the girl had caught fairly quickly.

…Just like one month ago! The exact same thing had happened then, as Haku recalled. During the day Loki had been extremely sick as well, but by morning she was already up and about. Haku clearly remembered that, because Zabuza-san was going to give her _hell _for walking off without telling him, and then… It was all so _weird_…

Flues didn't last one day. Unless, of course, it was something else. Another disease, perhaps? Haku searched his memory for any ideas, but no illnesses with symptoms similar to Loki's came to his mind.

_So what was it, _he wondered. _What's _wrong_ with you, Loki? _

* * *

The ninja didn't stand a chance. No mere human without proper equipment would hold a candle to a transformed werewolf, driven by pain and lust for blood. Thus, in a few seconds, it was all over. The unfortunate teenager's body was now nothing more but a rumpled, bloody heap on the ground, all that was left of a once full-of-life-and-excitement messenger ninja.

The werewolf hovered over the remains, staring at them uncertainly. Some sort of an inner struggle seemed to be going on inside its head. It was as if the _other _part of it had suddenly awoken and was now trying to regain control over the creature's mind.

For a moment, something almost _human _flickered in the hungry beast's eyes. _What am I doing, _the werewolf almost wondered; _why?_ It gaped at what was vaguely recognizable as a masked face, and a familiar partly-bandaged visage flashed briefly across the creature's agonized, clouded mind. Overtaken by a sudden, inexplicable anxiety, as if a part of its memory had suddenly gone blank, the werewolf flared up its nostrils, taking in the corpse's scent.

_No, not _him_. Good…_

The brief moment of painful sanity ended, and the wolf-feeling came back in all its furious glory. The bandaged face and all the rudiments of intellect were swept out of the werewolf's mind in a hurricane of savage hunger. Tonight, instincts were especially hard to deny…

* * *

What could be wrong with Loki? Haku was hurriedly assembling all the pieces of the jigsaw that he had at hand, but he still couldn't see the complete picture. He _had _to get to the bottom of this. If the girl was sick, then, as her friend, Haku had to help her get better, right? But how can you treat a disease if you don't even know what it is?

Let's try this again. Firstly, Loki falls sick. She has a high fever and can't as much as stand straight. By evening, however, she seems to recover a little, and in the morning she's already found strolling about. About a month later, the same thing happens. She's sick, too weak to train, recovers by dinnertime, and at night… she wanders off, _again_! What if… what if _that_, and not constipation, was the reason for Loki's mysterious absence? But where was she now, then? Healing? Suffering somewhere all by herself, not wanting him or Zabuza-san to know about her condition? But _why_? Why, why, why not tell them? Was it really something so bad?

Oh, Haku, you didn't know just how close you were to discovering the truth…

* * *

All reason drained out of it once more, the werewolf was preparing to devour its prey. But, for the second time that night, its gory feast was disrupted.

There was a disturbance in the atmosphere, as if the world itself had somehow shifted. The air became denser and harder to inhale, and even the pitch-black darkness grew a little bit darker. Small electrical currents charged through the surroundings, making the silence fizz and hum, as if a large cloud of insects was flying nearby, somewhere out of sight.

The werewolf froze, pricking its ears, the hairs on its back standing on end. This… _shift _was horrifying it; the werewolf didn't know why, but it realized that sticking around might not be the best of ideas.

Suddenly, the trees ahead twisted, bending and blurring, like in a drug addict's raving. The darkness condensed around the werewolf's paws, becoming thick, black mist; and out of the gloom, a thick vine protruded, probing the unfamiliar grounds ahead of it. It could sense the Energy, and it wanted it all for itself.

The werewolf howled with fear, its instincts screaming for it to get away. So it turned and ran, abandoning its prey, leaving the horrible entity to feast on the body alone. And somewhere behind the fleeting creature, already out of sight, the vines wrapped tight around the corpse, dragging it back into the suffocating, misty gloom.

_Another loophole had just been found. Another Portal was thrust open into the world from the forest of Kallmanah. And the barrier was weakening still, unable to withstand the pressure of another dimension… _

* * *

The morning found Haku dozing away peacefully, his back slumped against the willow-branch shelter, all the night's fears and suspicions banished by a sound, dreamless sleep.

It also found an exhausted, trembling Loki staggering shakily towards the spot where she'd left her companions, her kunoichi's outfit back on already. Werewolves had a very short-term memory during their transformation on the full moon, thus Loki could only remember the previous night's events in brief, vivid flashes. Nevertheless, it was enough to make her feel… disturbed. Loki didn't know why. She'd killed humans before, but then it had only been out of self-defence. Because humans got in her way. But… she had never before hunted a human _on purpose_… simply to satisfy her own hunger… and that… Somehow, it just felt _wrong_. Despite the fact that it was in her nature, Loki was feeling completely disgusted with herself.

It would always feel wrong, for as long as she lived alongside humans. Her up-bringing in the Centre had left an imprint on her that wasn't likely to ever fade away. And Loki wasn't alone. All werewolves that went through the Centre's metal clutches would never be _normal_ werewolves ever again.

When she reached their shelter, the first thing Loki saw was Haku. He was sleeping in a rather uncomfortable position, hunching on the ground with his cheek resting against his knees. Haku's scent, now faded out, bore evidence of the boy's nightly adventure. Loki felt a tinge of fear strike her spine as she watched the imprints of his odour, a white-and-blue aura interwoven with lime-green threads of terror. He went out at night… what for? He could have gotten _hurt_…

Loki's musings were interrupted as Zabuza hopped down from above, his wet, half-naked torso gleaming in the rising sun. He was just back from taking a morning bath in a nearby stream.

"What, you slack off from your training, but then you're suddenly all better enough for an early stroll?" he greeted the girl with a rough grumble. Of course, the Jounin had already noticed her absence.

Loki stared up at him, blinking in confusion. Oh shit, she thought as realization dawned. She had forgotten to hunt on her way back, so there was no way she could get out of _that_ one smoothly.

"Um, I… I'm sorry, Zabuza-san. I know I did really badly yesterday, so I decided to train a little bit by myself to make up for the day I lost." Loki averted her eyes, and blushed as she stammered out the lie (although the blushing itself had very little to do with the fact that she was lying). She was pretty amazed, though, at how quickly she came up with a good excuse.

Zabuza sized her up and down with his calculating death glare. "Well?" he snapped. "Any progress?"

Loki sighed and looked away. _He seems to have bought it, _the girl thought. "Only a little bit," she answered, going along with her lie. "I'm sorry if I'm not improving fast enough, Zabuza-san." The last bit, at least, was sincere.

Zabuza frowned, wanting to say something, but then let it go. Loki was doing rather well as she was, and he couldn't ask from her to be great at _everything_. But she had her own uses, and that was fine.

"Just try your best," he muttered, casting a sideways glance at Haku, who was just beginning to stir into awakening, "because we have to hurry up and start preparing for our mission."

**End Chapter! **

Haku-san's clever… very clever. But will he figure out the truth?

And what's the deal with that Kallmanah Forest again?

Hah. Like I'm gonna tell… xP

A couple of other things… The messenger ninja was just a random original character, and so was Satsuki-chan (Satsuki-chan? I have no idea why I called her that o.O) Also, I don't know what the months are called in Naruto's world, so I'm just going to stick to their normal names.

And does anyone have any idea what Naruto's world is called? Because they don't mention it in the manga or the anime, and I couldn't find anything on the Net either. So I'm just going to be reffering to it as 'the world' for the time being.

Man, long chapters are such a pain to edit… o.O But in the end at least, I'm always proud of the result. x3 So I hoped you enjoyed this chappie, because school is starting (Boooo! -thumbs down-) and I don't know when I'll be able to release the next one. -.- But! I won't be abandoning this fic! So… just be patient my friends, and keep checking. x3


	13. Mission

**_Author's Note: _**Okay, to all of you concrit-lubbers out there, here's the deal. I enjoy positive reviews, but I am not EXPECTING them from every reader – I do understand that my story isn't a gold-piece to be liked by everyone without exception. Praise is pleasant, but by no means compulsory – **I do accept constructive criticism as well, sting as it might.** English isn't my first language: it is, in fact, my third; and I'm aware that my grammar/spelling/punctuation aren't perfect. Thus, if you see any mistakes in my story, feel free to point them out – just as long as you do it in a POLITE way, that is. (By this, I mean no swearing or name-calling.) I will do my best and take it as peacefully as possible, as long as I see that it's meant to help me improve, and _not_ harass me. I come here to write for fun, and I do look forward to improving my writing skills and learning new things.

But before _assuming_ things, blindly accusing me of anything or mindlessly plopping a pile of ripped-off rubbish onto my review-page, you should at least, oh I don't know, actually **_READ_** the damn _**STORY**_ to check whether I actually made those mistakes or not!

Okay, enough of this.

Enjoy chapter 13, the rest of ya. X)

_**13. Mission**_

It was another busy morning in the Unseen Village of Twin Rivers.

The town was bustling with activity. All along the narrow streets, small shops were opening, food stalls were being set up, and a cheerfully-painted wooden cart informing random passers-by that its owner sold "Sausages-in-a-Bun, Only 1 Gold Piece Apiece, _Now with Real Meat_" was being rolled into a corner behind a rather gloomy-looking smithy. People were hurrying to and fro, completing errands, bargaining for cheaper vegetables and crossing numerous bridges as they headed for different parts of the village. And under their feet, Twin Rivers gurgled and rolled their rushing black currents, occasionally spattering cold, dirty water onto the cobblestone roads.

The hurrying crowds didn't pay any attention to a slim, scowling young man lurking in the shadows between two dusty warehouses at the further end of one of the riverbanks; who, in turn, didn't pay any attention to a pretty little girl in a pink kimono browsing through vegetable stalls not a long way away.

The scowling man was apparently waiting for something. He skulked in the darkness a while longer, carefully scanning the passing-by people. His eyes finally stopped on a short, plump woman standing in-between the stalls and picking out what were, in her opinion, the freshest apples in the crate. Her purse was hanging off her shoulder awkwardly on a thin strap of black leather. The scowling man smirked.

The pretty girl in the pink kimono had noticed the scowling man quite a while ago. She had her own suspicions about him, and was now watching him warily out of the corner of her eye. She saw him dart out of his shadowy corner and rush past the oblivious shoppers, unnoticed by most. His movements were somewhat cat-like: swift and unobtrusive at the same time. It was obvious that he was very, _very _skilled.

As he was running past the plump woman in front of the apple crate, he gave her a slight, seemingly accidental push; both of them looked stunned by the collision for a couple of seconds, then the man apologized and was back on his way. The girl narrowed her eyes. The black strap was still hanging off the woman's shoulder, but her purse… was, mysteriously, enough, nowhere to be seen. The girl breathed out. _Just a thief, _she thought. U_nbelievably skilled; and yet still, only a thief. _

And none of _them _would ever disguise themselves as thieves.

She bought some potatoes and cucumbers and left the market place under the accompaniment of a screeching plump woman, who by that time had already caught on to the fact that she had been robbed.

After visiting a few more random small shops and pointlessly prowling the village's streets for a while, the girl headed home with good news.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Zabuza had gone off on a very secret meeting with a trusted man who was supposed to give him the coordinates of his new employers.

* * *

In a few days' time, the eyebrowless assassin was already familiar with all the essentials of the mission he had to complete. After Haku, disguised as a girl, had made sure that the Village of Twin Rivers was Hunter-nin-free, Zabuza didn't waste any more time before getting in touch with his recruiters.

Along with the details of the task at hand, Zabuza had also received a map of his future victim's living quarters. It was laid out over a large tree stump now, held down by a couple of rocks to keep it from buckling or flying away in the wind. Haku, already out of his hated disguise, was studying it carefully. Loki, on the other side of the stump, was staring at the pictures blankly and wondering what the little labels said.

In the meantime, Zabuza briefly explained the principles of the forthcoming mission to his students. It was obvious that his employers knew the assassinatee, a man by the name of Nami Hidaka, very well; for they provided plenty of information that could prove very useful in the planning-out of the assassination itself. Like, for example, the fact that Hidaka was a _very_ suspicious man, who kept a whole army of guards to maintain security, not to mention his hoard of specially-trained dogs. Or the fact that he stayed in touch with the Water Country's military corps; which meant that the ANBU and the Hunter ninja would be contacted right away in case of any disturbances. Or the fact that he slept on the second floor of his three-storey "fortress". Whether Hidaka's paranoia was caused by a previous, unsuccessful attempt upon his life (most probably by the very same people that had now hired Zabuza), or whether he simply had some unresolved issues with his head that accidentally coincided with his enemies' malevolent plans, remained unclear to Zabuza. He also didn't much care for the fact that his employers had once owned a business with Hidaka, and that his death would make certain people very, _very _rich. All Zabuza cared about was getting the job done as quickly as possible and receiving his paycheck. Which would be a very _big _paycheck, indeed.

"…and the problem is," the Jounin was saying while pacing back and forth in front of his subordinates, "that we _can't start a bloody commotion._ Understand? This needs to be done _quietly_; otherwise they'll alarm the military corps, and the bloody Hunters will be on our tails again. That means that we can't just come crashing through the main gate, slaughtering everyone in the way. Not only will this result in Hidaka's possible escaping and the whole mission failing, but we will also run the risk of getting caught by the Mizukage's Hunter bloodhounds. And that kind of kills the purpose of our whole enterprise. Thus, we're left with a little problem – how do we get into a heavily-guarded estate without causing a ruckus?"

"Can't we simply sneak in?" asked Haku. "We're ninja, after all. We're good at that quiet stuff."

"I will explain one more time," answered Zabuza in an exasperated tone. "Take another look at the map. There's your outer wall…" the older ninja dabbed the map with his finger, pointing at a thick line which enclosed the whole drawing into a neat rectangle. "It is guarded by eight people. Then there's the _inner_ wall… (Zabuza indicated a smaller rectangle within the first one) …which is also, undoubtedly, guarded. Plus, there are those dogs. If there's something you can't get past unnoticed, it's a damn _dog_ and its bloody _nose_." The man cast a sideways glance at Loki before continuing, "That Hidaka bloke's bloody _clever_. See here, he put two guards _at the middle _of each of the sides of the outer wall, back-to-back sort of thing, so that each of them only has half of the space to supervise. So there's no sneaking behind anyone's back – the other man's bound to see you. And even if I use my Hidden Mist Jutsu to get us to the other side quietly, the dogs will sense us anyway and alert everyone, so we're going to be starting a commotion either way."

Haku looked thoughtful. "If we could pinpoint all of the dogs' positions, then I could probably use my Ice Needle Jutsu to knock them all out…"

"And _how _are we supposed to do _that_?" Zabuza snapped. "They're _animals! _They're unpredictable. It's not like they sit in one spot and wait for you to conjure up your needles, they run all around the bloody place!"

"Perhaps Loki could smell them out and tell us where they are…?" Haku suggested rather timidly. Loki, who had long lost the thread of the conversation and was currently busying herself by staring blankly into space, flinched at the sound of her name.

"Erm… dogs…?" she asked. The girl had heard of them back at the Centre, but she had never seen one up close; thus, she had no idea what they smelled like. "I don't exactly…"

"Oh." Haku vaguely recalled Loki's life history, or at least that version of it that she had given him a couple of months ago. "You don't know what dogs are, right? Well, don't worry. I'll show you some stray ones in the vill--"

"_Can we stay on the subject here_?!" Zabuza barked, losing his patience completely. "We _can't _have Loki smell out the dogs, because what good will it do to us if they don't all come outside for you to have a proper aim at anyway? And hunting them down one by one's not gonna work either, because that would take too much time and there would be a _much_ greater chance of us getting noticed! Remember our main objective? Don't. Start. _A commotion!_"

Haku cast down his eyes dismally, realizing that he hadn't been of much help.

"…Good try, though," Zabuza added in a slightly calmer tone, noticing his apprentice's dispirited face.

Haku's eyes lit up a little.

"In any case," Zabuza continued as though nothing had just happened, "there is no way to get in there quietly, _unless_…!" And here he raised a finger meaningfully to capture his audience's undivided attention, "Unless… somebody was to let us in from the _inside_."

"But… but wouldn't that require one of us to sneak into Hidaka's house in the first place?" Haku asked, somewhat perplexed. "And we can't do that, right?"

"Right," agreed the bandage-faced Jounin.

"Sir… are you implying that we bribe somebody from Hidaka's household, then?" Haku half-asked, half-suggested.

Zabuza considered the proposition, surprise flashing in his dark-brown eyes for a brief moment. Then he shook his head. That wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

"Bribe somebody? That's an interesting thought, but judging from what those people told me about the man, his servants are unbribable and his guards don't as much as let anyone unfamiliar near the estate. But… heh, I guess we'll just have to see about that," the man sneered. "'Unbribable', huh… I will keep this in mind, Haku."

Meanwhile, Loki looked as though she was watching the final play-offs at a tennis championship. She was gaping at Zabuza, then at Haku, and then back at Zabuza again as if they were the most curious and complicated things in the universe. There was only one thing that stood out bright and clear to her in this whole conversation, and that was the fact that they had to kill a human called Nami Hidaka to receive a lot of money. All the rest went into Loki's 'details of human life' category – a field which she was only vaguely familiar with. Therefore, as much as she would like to be of help, she had to leave all the thinking and planning to the experts.

"Good thinking, Haku," Zabuza was saying in the meantime. "I, however, had a different idea in mind. It's true that it may be very difficult for all of us to sneak into the mansion, but it could be a great deal easier if only _one_ of us tried to get in. Heck, we might not even have to go through with the whole letting-in-the-other-two procedure then, because just one of us would be enough to do the job!" The man laughed, pleased with his own ingenuity. Today was definitely one of his good days.

Haku contemplated the idea suspiciously. An unpleasant nagging feeling at the back of the boy's mind was quietly telling him that a lot of make-up and cross-dressing might be involved in this one as well…

"Now then, since we already have a slight idea of what to do," the assassin continued, seeming to have decided that if _he _knew what was going on, then everybody else did as well, "our next task will involve looking for a… loophole… in Hidaka's defences. And I mean…" And here, a passing-by cloud up in the skies blocked the sun off for just a moment, briefly casting a menacing-looking shadow over Zabuza's leering face as he half-whispered, "…and I mean, _any _loophole."

* * *

The forest stream murmured and sloshed its clear, rapid waters past the muddy bank, showering Haku's kimono in a drizzle of icy spatters as he knelt over the torrent, putting on make-up. He could see his own face reflected in the slower-flowing part of the stream in which he was standing. His expression was that of a cat with a couple of tin-cans tied to its tail.

Loki was sitting on a rock nearby, splashing the water around with her bare feet. Ninjaing was _very_ complicated, she mused. Haku had helped her catch up on his and Zabuza's earlier discussion, but had gotten back nothing more than a blank stare when he'd asked the girl for any suggestions on the matter. Of course, what else did he expect? She couldn't even _read_…

"I'm sorry I'm not of much use…" Loki muttered after a while, as if guessing his thoughts. She felt so… so _unimportant_, just sitting around aimlessly for the lack of good ideas to contribute, while Haku and Zabuza did all the thinking, spying, preparing and all those other intricate little things always essential in a mission. Well, Loki wasn't exactly doing _nothing_; but she strongly suspected that Zabuza only invented those drills for her to occupy her somehow andso that she didn't get in the way of the important preparations.

"That's okay," said Haku, making another desperate assault at his hair and trying to force it to lie straight. He knew what it felt like to be unneeded, and did his best to comfort the girl. "We're only just beginning. I'm sure that Zabuza-san will find something for you to do soon."

Loki sighed. If only she knew more about how humans lived, she could have tried to be of more help. But for now, all she remained good for was hand-to-hand combat and sniffing out the enemy. She watched Haku look himself over critically for the last time and pick up a basket of vegetables that he'd bought from the village market the other day.

"Good luck, Haku," Loki called after the boy as he turned to leave.

"Thank you. I'll try to be back soon," Haku answered over his shoulder, disappearing among the fluffy-looking spruce trees ahead.

* * *

Two guards were standing sentinel in front of the main gates of the Hidaka household, as was usually the case. Their job was a dull and boring one, but at least it was well-paid and didn't involve much elaborate thinking. All they had to do was watch their side of the wall and fend off any suspicious-looking strangers trying to get in. Or any strangers at all, for that matter.

The dogs were barking. The dogs were always barking, so it was difficult to tell whether they actually had a good reason to bark this time. But that made no difference, for there were men guarding the wall all the way along its perimeter; thus, any malevolent strangers would have a very hard time getting in unnoticed. And even then, barking wasn't _all _these dogs were good for. The Hidaka household was _very _well-protected, indeed.

Haku was peering out of the shadowy alleyway warily, watching the wide stretch of the road between himself and the distant mansion with some apprehension. The boy ran his short speech over in his head, hoping he wouldn't look too suspicious when saying it, and took a deep breath in to calm himself. Finally, he clutched the vegetable basket firmer in his hand and stepped out into the daylight, full of determination.

The sun, gazing down from out of a misty veil of grey, witnessed the pink-kimono-clad ninja approach the manor's main gate. It also heard the barking get a little more intense behind the looming red-brick wall, and noted the swift readiness with which the two stone-faced guards at the gate jerked into attention at the sight of the boy.

Or, er, girl. That was who the guards thought Haku to be, as was usually the case.

"Oy, you there! Where do you think you're going?" one of the sentries barked gruffly as soon as Haku got within earshot. "This is private property!"

The ninja-in-disguise appeared to be taken aback.

"P…private property? B-but…" he did his best to imitate a shy little girl's voice.

"Just stay where you are and state your business!" The man in the guard's uniform had obviously been the perfect choice for his job.

"Sir… I'm just… I was just looking for customers to buy vegetables from me and my Grandfather, see, here!" Haku held up the basket for the guards to examine. "I… I didn't mean to trespass, honest! But… I usually go all around the neighbourhood, and there had never been any trouble, so I thought… Anyway, how about a cucumber, these are _very _fresh!"

The security said nothing and glowered at the basket with a death-glare worthy of Zabuza Momochi himself. If glares could destroy, then by now the cucumbers would have certainly been a green, soggy mess sadly splattered all over the cobblestone road. The other guard raised his lance in the direction of the pink-kimonoed figure.

"No go, girl. Take your… cucumbers and… things… somewhere else. There's no need for a vegetable purveyor in this household, and you should know better than to come to this place without a legitimate reason."

"What?!? Oh… but…" Haku did his best to look dispirited, suppressing a sudden but powerful urge to put a senbon through the guard's throat at the word 'girl'. Well, that complimented his acting skills, at least. What got him annoyed, though, was knowing that he had been _that _good. "But… but I was told…"

"There is a special place for people like you, girl!" the first guard snapped, finally ceasing his fruitless attempts to set the vegetable basket aflame with sheer willpower. "It's called a marketplace! There are plenty of customers to sell your merchandise to there, and there's no reason whatsoever why you should go around instead, disturbing honest people from their work!"

"But… but…" Haku was gulping, at the same time trying to focus on condensing tiny droplets of water in the corners of his eyes to make them look teary. Helpless, crying young women always enjoyed a great deal of influence over men. This particular guard, however, angered by this strange girl's denseness, was on the roll; and wouldn't listen to reason.

"Which part of 'you've got no business here without a personal invitation from Mister Hidaka' don't you idiot commoners understand?" the man began to yell, spit flying in all directions. "How many times do we have to keep telling you that we've got our own people supplying us with provisions, and we don't need some dirty little--"

He was suddenly interrupted as the bony elbow of his less talkative comrade connected with his ribs.

"What my colleague was trying to tell you," the quieter guard uttered with a soft smile, "is that we have no need for your services. Very sorry, missy, but our policy is not to let any unfamiliar persons near the gate without a special invitation. And since we didn't get any notices about anyone visiting today, I will have to politely ask you to leave and not come back here again. Have a nice day, miss."

"I… I understand. And I'm sorry if I caused trouble," said Haku, who wasn't, and bowed respectfully. Well, it wasn't like he _expected_ to be let in or anything."Thank you anyway," he added coolly as he turned to walk away.

* * *

According to the map, there was another entrance into the courtyard in the side of the wall fencing off the rear of the mansion. It only existed for emergency situations, and was supposed to be hidden to the eyes of the outsiders. And Haku might have also been fooled, had he just been a random passer-by, oblivious to the secrets of the household in question.

Unfortunately for Nami Hidaka, Haku wasn't just a random passer-by. However, even knowing where the secret entrance was hardly made the boy any more successful. There, too, he was turned away with an indifferent 'you've got to have an invitation to be here' line; and even the flirting (a very heroic contribution from Haku's part) met a cold wall. Yes, Zabuza had been right. These guards truly _were_ unbribable.

The young spy had nevertheless found out a very important, as it seemed to him, little detail on this short mission; and now he couldn't wait to share it with his master.

* * *

"…And this would be yet more evidence that trying to bribe the guards is an utterly pointless idea," Zabuza was drawing the conclusion out loud in front of his usual audience: his loyal students and the rabbit, a half an hour after Haku had gotten back from his assignment. "We wouldn't be able to as much as approach them with such a request without setting off an alarm. Besides," (here Zabuza stopped to cough meaningfully, his inner speechmaker feeling that an interjection of some kind was needed for more dramatic effect) "Besides, if bribing Hidaka's men was this bloody easy, they wouldn't need _us _to do the job, now would they?"

"Perhaps… they were worried about possible blackmailers appearing later on…?" Haku suggested timidly (you had to consider _all_ of the options before completely abandoning the idea). Loki just sat on the grass beside him quietly, feeling completely useless yet again.

"Then they could have hired us to _assassinate the_ _blackmailers_," Zabuza's voice went down a few tones as he spoke the last three words. "Anyway," he continued, his intonation rising back to normal, "it would only be a waste of our budgets. I've agreed to do this because I was actually hoping to get some profits out of this whole deal, but I don't think that this entrance would cost us cheap, if you catch my drift. If we'd have to pay more just to get to the man than we'd receive for finishing him off, it wouldn't be a fair trade for us. Doesn't take a math genius to figure that one out, now."

Haku went silent. Beside him, Loki was staring up at the sky thoughtfully and wondering when they were going to eat, for the lack of better things to think about. It seemed that, despite what Haku had said, she really was going to sit out on this mission, after all. Well, she just hoped it would all be over soon, so that she could resume her training with Zabuza.

"…I was also considering the idea of setting Hidaka up with a… _female companion_," the Jounin was saying meaningfully in the meantime, "but, unfortunately for us, he doesn't seem to be very interested in little girls." He sighed exasperatedly. In the background, Haku exhaled briefly, unable to suppress his immense relief.

"…Though he _is _interested in little _boys_," Zabuza continued nonchalantly.

"What??" Haku just couldn't stop himself from exclaiming.

"Relax. It's a joke. Hur-hur-hur," said Zabuza, his face straight, ducking just in time to dodge a senbon flying his way. "Anyway, you have suggested a very interesting idea earlier on," he said.

"Pardon? I thought you decided not to go through with the bribing thing, sir," Haku asked, somewhat surprised.

"Not _that _idea. But you _did _mention an interesting little detail, something about Hidaka having his own food-suppliers, didn't you? Well, well… If we could only find out more…"

"So… what are you suggesting, Zabuza-san?" asked Haku suspiciously.

"We are going to watch that house. Every day. And then… well, we'll just have to see about that…"

* * *

…Loki was running down the silent, sleepy streets of the Village of Twin Rivers. She was ecstatic. Who wouldn't be, at the bright and shiny prospect of a long-awaited mission? Even though she only got a small part to play in the whole grand affair, Loki was still happy: doing _something _useful was much better than doing pointless drills. Besides, this was a good opportunity to get more attention and praise out of Zabuza.

Loki turned a shadowy corner, sniffing this way and that in search of Haku's weakening trail of scent. Aha, here it was. This scent was going to lead her to the Hidaka estate far better than any maps or directions would. She had been shown the way once before, of course; a couple of days ago, Haku had taken the girl out into the town to familiarize her with the area. It had been quite a long and detail-filled trip; so now, reinforced by these fresh memories, Loki's inner compass was faultlessly guiding her towards her destination.

Her mission was clear. Suggested by Haku, it was simple and ingenious. Every morning, Loki had to pay a short visit to the mansion's surroundings and search for any signs of provision supplies turning up in the area. By scent alone, she would figure out how, when and how often these goods were being brought; and this useful information could open a nice, wide window of opportunity in Hidaka's seemingly impassable defences. (The time of Loki's departure, needless to say, was chosen by Zabuza himself – early morning was most convenient, he explained, because "fewer bloody people would be out to see anything". Which was a very sensible precaution, no doubt. Loki running around in a _girl's kimono_ would have been a sight to behold.)

In any case, the girl had been spying on the household for a couple of days now, discovering many important and interesting details about the matter at hand. She had sniffed out, quite literally, that the supplies were delivered to Hidaka's manor through the hidden entrance sometime before dawn; that this notable event occurred every couple of days; and that the food cart was driven by one man and guarded by two more. The only thing that still remained unclear to Loki, however, was the 'exactly how often' part of the problem. The scents of the food cart had a very unpleasant habit of dissipating annoyingly fast in the clouds of other smells that floated by during daytime, and Loki had to come back time and again to check for any new appearances of the provision suppliers.

It hadn't been going too badly – today, in fact, was her third morning on errands – except for the fact that she almost got caught spying the day before by one of the more sensitive guards. That was a detail that Loki decided to keep to herself rather than reporting it to Zabuza, because it wasn't too significant anyhow and the eyebrowless man would only start fretting over nothing. Loki didn't want to worry him over such a small thing. The man was too paranoid for his own good, anyway.

…The girl was running along a wider cobblestone road now, her bare feet making soft slapping noises as they hit the damp, chilly rock. Somewhere to her right, a window opened, making her flinch. An old man's face stuck out from behind the shutters, red and thick with sleep and countless hangovers. He cried out something loud but incomprehensible, staring after the girl, and then the window snapped shut once more. Loki just shrugged and ran on. Humans were, undoubtedly, _very_ strange beings; but she was already getting used to that.

In the distance, a dog barked. Loki knew what dogs were now. They were aggressive, loud things that thought they owned the place. But in reality, most of them were just as cowardly as their human masters, preferring to protect their territory from behind the thickness of their property's walls. Their language was very harsh and frenzied, but nevertheless quite comprehensible to Loki. It sounded a lot like her own thoughts did when the girl was in her wolf-state.

_Who... there? Go… away!_

Hmph. Loki had no intention of invading the dog's private property, anyway. But she knew it wouldn't calm down until she was out of earshot. Dogs, just like humans, were very, very strange.

* * *

The coast seemed to be clear. Loki's eyesight wasn't its greatest in the gloom, but she could sense the two figures standing far away, close to the mansion's wall. And no night patrol. That was a good sign.

The dogs had felt her presence, though, and were now going ballistic over on the other side of the giant brick fence; but humans paid little attention to them. Of course, humans didn't understand what they were saying.

Loki took a sniff of the murky morning air. Her world filled with scents of dust, dampness, anxiety, and… She made a face. Didn't humans have _special sand-boxes _for doing this kind of business? She had, back at the Centre. Well, that didn't really matter now. The smell she was looking for wasn't there. Was she too early? Or maybe she should have tried coming closer…?

…Like the last time. Loki winced at the memory. Zabuza would be so angry if he knew. Well, at least she found out what she needed to for sure that morning. And the girl didn't want to come back with an uncertain answer today, either. Zabuza was depending on her. She couldn't let him down.

Besides, that guard couldn't _possibly _remember her, could he? There were all kinds of beggars prowling the morning village streets, weren't there? …Were there…?

In any case, she had to do something quickly before it was too late. Loki took a deep breath in and slowly sidled out of her hiding place, starting towards the wall. The dogs inside the courtyard were going crazy. She wondered if they realized what _exactly_ she was…

_Stranger!!... Stranger!!... Stranger!! Go… away! Go away!!!! Go! Go gogogo go! Go away!!_

Their vocabulary seemed to be quite limited, but they were so _loud!_ Even if humans didn't understand them, Loki was afraid that eventually they would realize someone else was there just because of the rising noise level. She had to act fast, or risk getting caught…

"…_hello_? Is somebody there?"

Oh damn. It seemed that the humans were beginning to catch on faster than the girl had figured. She stopped where she was, observing the vague, distant figures move in the mist. Something was happening at the far-off end of the street…

Not wanting to go back, but not wishing to attract too much unwanted attention as well, Loki crouched on the ground, motionless. Having thought of nothing better to do than this, she now hoped that through the gloom and fog of the morning she would look like nothing more than a lifeless huddle of junk on the road to the guards.

Tough luck. Hidaka's guards were all hired for a good reason.

"_Hey_!!! I think I saw someone…"

Sniff the air. I must get a good whiff of this air, Loki thought, breathing in as deeply as she could. Not that she didn't trust her nose at a distance, but she _had _to know for sure. She _had _to.

For a moment, her inner vision came alight with the web of all the bright, jolly colours of different scents… but before she could analyze them and find the right ones, something else stood out to her. The girl froze. The guard that was now slowly, uncertainly taking a few steps in her direction was the same one that had almost spotted her the day before. Loki could feel his scent. She recognized it. The girl bit her lip, fruitlessly trying to blend in with the cobblestones. Damn, damn, _damn! _She was such an _idiot_! How could she not think that something like this could happen _again_?

The guard was advancing, his lance outstretched. He couldn't see Loki very clearly yet, but that didn't matter. He must have seen something falling to the ground and now knew that someone was there. The girl suppressed her instinctive urge to pounce on him with quite some difficulty: the wolf-blood inside of her was already beginning to boil at the sight of the approaching man. But Loki knew it was pointless to obey it now. She would only be doing exactly what Zabuza would categorically _not _want her to do in any situation, and that was Causing Commotion. But… what other options did she have?

Well, Loki _could _have slipped away as quietly as a snake through the grass, leaving the guard to gawp dumbly at the place where she had just been crouching. She could have _also _lain where she was and pretended to be terribly sick. She could have given a million excuses for being where she was, and the guard would have probably bought them all, because in the obscurity Loki didn't much look like a malevolent intruder. But, overridden by panic at the thought of getting caught, the girl just couldn't think straight. So she did the only thing that, in her opinion, was sensible in the given situation. She sprang up from the ground and ran, ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction.

The werewolf-girl moved very quickly, but her uncertainty and the inexplicable fright caused her to stumble awkwardly and lose her balance a couple of times on her way back to her shadowy refuge. It was a slip-up that she normally wouldn't allow, but this wasn't a normal situation. And, having led a monotonous and routine-filled life for most of her long thirteen years, Loki wasn't that great at dealing with new situations as quickly as they presented themselves. The teachings of the Centre, seemingly forgotten, found the most inconvenient of all times to take over Loki's mind; and thus, unable to confront a human in any way, the girl fled.

She could hear the guard's surprised, and then angry yelling behind her; and even thought that she felt some sort of a small weapon whoosh past her temple; but even then, the wolf-girl didn't stop. As she ran, Loki was realizing that she was acting stupid, but for some reason she just wasn't able to help herself. It was too late now, in any case; and there was only one thing left to do. Back in the safety of the alleyway, the unsuccessful spy continued her shameful flight, only vaguely aware of the guard's departing scent.

It was all over. The guards would certainly note her strange behaviour and watch out for her tomorrow. And it wasn't just a small matter this time. It _had_ to be reported to Zabuza. And considering that in all of the commotion she didn't have time to look for the scents of the food cart, Loki had nothing else to report, or at least report _for sure_. Yes, that was it. She failed her one and only important mission. She screwed up because of her own thoughtlessness and stupidity. Perhaps she should have stayed out of this whole thing after all, instead of dumbly insisting on trying to be helpful.

Weeping in powerless rage at herself, Loki dashed onwards through the foggy streets. And the dogs yapped and howled triumphantly as their foe ran past and away, secretly relieved that their territory was not her destination.

* * *

Back on the deserted street behind the Hidaka mansion, the sharp-eyed guard had just finished staring in confusion into the morning gloom and was now returning to reassume his position at the hidden rear gate. His comrade was already back on his own spot, giving the other man a dejected 'oh well' sort of look.

"…Bloody beggars, can't they just mind their own business…" the returning guard was muttering grumpily through gritted teeth, disappointed by his and his colleague's unsuccessful 'hunt'.

"Hey!! What's with all the commotion?!?"

A third security seemed to materialize out of thin air, and started towards the two men patrolling the back gate with a worried expression on his face. In the background, the dogs were still going crazy behind the impassable brick wall.

"Oh, nothin' serious! Just some homeless girl wandered into the neighbourhood again," the first guard's voice echoed dully through the heavy, misty air. "Those rudy beggars, disrupting honest people from their work," he added as an afterthought, watching the third man stop in his tracks, nod understandingly at the empty street at large and retreat back into the gloom.

"The next time I catch a beggar around here, I'm throwing him to the dogs," the man concluded, addressing the sentry beside him. He was obviously still fuming about letting that weird homeless girl get away. There went a fun-filled morning, all down the drain.

He kept grumbling about that, and the lack of sleep, and his small pay-check for a couple more minutes; and then, as his voice subsided along with the barking of the dogs, the sleepy, foggy silence descended onto the shadowy alleyways once more.

* * *

Loki was trudging sullenly along an abandoned village road. The Unseen Village of Twin Rivers was quite big, thus it could afford having an abandoned road or two. This particular abandoned road led out of the township and straight into a vast, dense forest, which covered the biggest part of the surrounding area. The once-wide path was now half-hidden in tall, yellowing grasses and dry undergrowth. Two fading parallel lines imprinted in the trail's soggy muck were indicating quite clearly that a cart rode by this place a while ago. Okay, maybe this road wasn't _that _abandoned.

Loki was pacing in large steps in order to cover as much distance as possible and step into as little dirt as possible. Damp grass brushed against her muddy ankles unpleasantly, adding to the girl's overall feeling of glumness. How, how could she mess up so bad? Why did she have to act so _stupid_?

Loki's panic was long gone by now, allowing her to think clearly and try to approach these questions logically. When the wolf-girl thought about it now, she realized that her first and foremost mistake was trying to get closer to the mansion. There hadn't been any need for that, and she knew this. Her nose would have told her the whole story anyway; it should have been obvious to her of all people. But… would it? You never knew. Not that Loki didn't have confidence in her own sense of smell, but… and here her eyes acquired a slightly maniacal glint… _she had to know for sure. _

And, well… Loki was just so… exhilarated, so eager to do a good job, to double-check all answers and come back with the _right_ information. She wanted Zabuza to see that she was useful and trustworthy and deserving of his praise. The thought of him realizing that she was good enough made the girl so strangely _proud_…

And for that, she had needed to make sure that she was getting the correct information; which, of course, involved approaching the great brick fencing. And getting noticed. There was no way around it; not even for a werewolf. Here, Loki would have normally thought of herself as of an extremely _skilled _werewolf, but after the disaster at the gates, the girl could hardly call herself 'skilled'. She wasn't even sure about _what _exactly happened back there. It was all going to go smoothly, even with that guard noticing her. But then… when she saw that human advance at her with that weapon… _a monitor in silver armour with a double-barrel machine gun_… _the Centre, Loki being led along a narrow corridor… an extremely long and narrow passageway lit by sterile-white lights… suffocating odours of concrete and steel and circulating electricity… the feel of the machine-gun pressed against her neck… _It all came back to her. All those memories that had already begun covering up with the thin cobweb of time, all of them for some reason sprang back to the surface of her conscience at the sight of that man. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing Loki could do. She couldn't hide. She couldn't attack. She had to _wait and obey._ Those heavy, familiar words. _Wait and obey_, because the humans were the masters, because the humans ruled all. The mental barriers set by the Centre for eleven long years could not be erased by a mere couple of months in freedom. _Obey and wait. _Perhaps they would not vanish at all…

But that wasn't what worried the girl at the moment. It bugged her that these memories and barriers had to surface _now _of all times; not when she was training with Zabuza, not when she was taking the Haku tour into the village, but _now_, when she was doing something that actually _mattered._ In a desperate, useless attempt to flee her memories, Loki lost control and sabotaged her whole assignment.

_You're a warrior, Loki. Warriors must never lose control._

That was what the Chief had said. The only truthful words she had ever heard from him her entire life.

…How was she going to face Zabuza now…?

…Suddenly, Loki felt that she was being watched by two cautious, beady eyes; and right away, the girl's nose informed her that her watcher was a dog. The wolf-girl looked up. And then, down again. She was being faced by a small ginger terrier, its shaggy ears twitching in anxiety as it gaped at the werewolf. Loki felt the dog's nervousness; but for some reason, she didn't feel like chasing it away with a horrifying scream, like she was always tempted to do when she saw the other dogs in the village. Instead, she crouched down in the grass, outstretching a hand for the terrier to sniff. It was supposed to be a friendly gesture; however, the terrier seemed to have decided otherwise. Its nose made the tiniest of movements as it took in Loki's scent; and then, apparently finding it a tad bit too savage for its liking, the terrier sneezed and disappeared into the tall grasses to the girl's left. She stared after it thoughtfully, and then took off her nose-filters again.

It was quite a surprise for Loki to discover that, rather ironically, the small ginger terrier belonged to the Hidaka household. She gazed at the spot from where it had vanished into the grasses for a while longer, pondering about the oddities of life; and then rounded in the opposite direction, heading deeper into the forest.

* * *

Returning to the glade where Momochi and his team were currently stationed turned out to be quite a difficult task for Loki to perform. It was as though her legs had suddenly acquired a mind of their own; and instead of taking the girl directly to the spot where she was supposed to meet her master with the information, they went around in circles, took unnecessary turns, and even tried to round back to the village a couple of times all of their own accord. And, to tell the truth, Loki wasn't trying too hard to regain control over her disobedient limbs. It wasn't that she was _afraid _(pshht – since when did a werewolf fear _humans_?); but somehow, the thought of coming back with nothing more to report except for her own disastrous failure sent unpleasant shivers down the girl's spine, and made her stomach lurch and twist uncomfortingly.

However, Loki realized that she had to return _sometime_; and it was better if she did so sooner rather than later. Zabuza tended to be a bit fanatical about being on time, and making him wait by wandering places would only anger the man more. A timid suggestion at the back of the girl's mind raised its skinny hand shyly and quietly proposed that this, perhaps, would be the best time (and excuse) imaginable for Loki to make a run for it and start a life on her own in the woods, but the wolf-girl dismissed that thought with a desperate wave. She… she just couldn't do it. And not only because Loki was still rather obsessed with her eyebrowless trainer, or felt that she still owed Haku one for saving her hide, but because… well, she was afraid… afraid of beginning to live all by _herself_ in a place she knew so little about. And her fixation about being re-captured by the Centre had a lot to do with this as well. Loki didn't believe that she could make it on her own quite yet, while sticking around Zabuza and Haku made her feel much more… sure of herself. Much more protected.

After all, Zabuza's wrath couldn't _possibly _be much worse than her likely fate at the Centre, could it?

_Couldn't _it…?

* * *

…As Loki told her disrupted, interjection-filled story to her own nervously fidgeting fingers, Zabuza didn't say a word. He didn't explode and go on a crazy yelling rampage, and didn't chase the girl around the clearing with his giant, neck-slicing Cleaver. He listened to the whole of her monologue, patiently waiting for the end between countless 'um's, 'uh's and excuses; and when Loki finished, he didn't beat her up or make any other attempts upon her life. In fact, he seemed to be unnervingly understanding about the whole thing – he even _smiled _once or twice – and, seeing this kind of reaction, Loki, uncertainly at first, began to gain hope.

Zabuza sat on his rock motionlessly, giving the girl a hard, thoughtful stare. In the background, Haku was standing stock-still, his face remaining emotionless, but his scent doing quite the opposite. Loki waited hopefully.

"Can you swim?" the oldest ninja asked after a pause.

The question was so sudden and off-topic that Loki was taken aback.

"Can I… swim…? Err…"

At the Centre, Loki was never taught how to swim. She did have to take occasional baths (and she couldn't say she enjoyed them a great deal), but she had never been exposed to a lot of water before. Loki _did _know about lakes, though, since Zabuza and Haku made stops near them every so often, but it had never occurred to the girl to actually go _into _the actual _water_ and--

"Answer my question!" Zabuza was losing his patience.

"No, sir. But… what--?"

"Come on, let's go."

Before Loki could interject, she felt herself being grabbed around the waist and tucked tightly under one of Zabuza's muscular arms. The sky, Haku and the nature around the girl soon became one big blur as the branches of pine-trees descended to meet her at a light-fast speed. As Loki desperately tried to comprehend what was going on and what did any of this have to do with her failed mission, Zabuza jumped swiftly from tree to tree, carrying his female trainee deeper into the forest. Finally he stopped; and just as Loki began to feel a growing smell of silty water from somewhere far, far beneath them, her world became a shapeless blend of colours once more.

Suddenly and without any explanation at all, everything turned and twisted in front of Loki's eyes. She felt her head spin and her arms wave about erratically as she was swung around deftly by her legs and thrown head-first into the nearby lake's unwelcoming embrace. Black waters sloshed and sent cold splatters around in annoyance, completely engulfing their disturber's body and then closing in smoothly above the girl's unfortunate backside.

High up on the pine-tree branch, Zabuza waited. Small carbon dioxide bubbles popped up for a while around the spot where Loki's belly met the lake; and after a couple more seconds trickled by, the girl herself resurfaced, apparently grasping the idea. She was having considerable trouble, though; the lake just didn't seem to want to let her go, and Loki's head bobbed in and out of sight awkwardly as she struggled for breath.

Zabuza watched her struggles with a rather calm half-smile on his partly-bandaged face.

"_Not able to deal with new situations, now are we? Do you know what happens to a _ninja_ who cannot handle new situations?_" the man yelled from the height of his tree when Loki's milk-and-coffee-coloured head re-appeared above the lake's rippling surface. "_That's right! _Shit _happens! Exactly the same thing that will happen to _you _if you don't learn how to deal with this_ particular _situation! _(He waited for Loki to pop out of the water and into the earshot once more) _…And to become a shinobi of MY expectations, you will have to learn how to handle the bloody things just as fast as they _bloody_ present themselves! Am I clear? Am _I clear? _And-- AND DON'T YOU DARE HELP HER, HAKU!!!_" he yelled at the extremely distressed-looking boy who had just caught up with the two, and now made an uncertain start towards the lake. "_She will have to learn by herself, or she will die trying!"_

Haku made a reproachful interjection, but stopped dead in his tracks. He knew better than to argue with his master. The idea of leaving Loki to drown was painful, but, unfortunately, a categorical 'no' from Zabuza meant that she had to get out of this mess by herself, or suffer much more serious consequences.

"Oh, and did I mention, if you _do _get out…?" the Jounin turned back to shout just as he appeared about to leave, "…Don't expect us to _leave you_ _any dinner tonight!!!_"

And off he went, disappearing into the depths of the forest, Haku following grudgingly. Momochi didn't know why he had added that last bit. But it seemed like such a nice finishing touch to his punishment.

In the middle of the lake, Loki was gurgling and flapping her arms around desperately. She could hear Zabuza's words, but missing dinner was the last thing bothering the girl at the moment. Her shocked mind was concentrated on one concept, and one concept only – and that concept was Surviving.

* * *

…A couple of hours flew by without anyone really noticing. Only the trees in the darkening forest shed several more leaves in a chilly passing-by breeze; and, somewhere far away, Nami Hidaka ordered another three locks to be installed into his bedroom door.

Loki was lying on her back in the grass, not a long way away from a happily-crackling little bonfire in front of which Zabuza and Haku were currently feasting on roasted fish. The girl was trying to catch her breath; and her limbs, teaming up with the stomach, weren't making things any easier by giving her hell for being such an idiot in the first place.

A while after Zabuza and Haku had abandoned the luckless wolf-girl at the lake, Loki's drowning organism had let her animal instincts kick in and finally taught Loki how to dog-paddle. She had barely muddled through the stubborn, clinging waters of the lake, almost wrenching her arms and legs out of their joints and ingesting a lot of the sludgy, bitter liquid along the way. Not long afterwards, the girl had crawled out onto the sandy shore, dripping cold water and shaking all over from shock and exhaustion. Black with silt and covered in slippery waterweeds, she resembled some grotesque mythical monster that had come out of its muddy refuge in search for virgins, disobedient little children or anybody else who wasn't allowed into the forest after nightfall.

The wolf-girl had no idea how she'd made it back to the campsite, or for how long she had rested afterwards. Neither Zabuza nor Haku had spoken to her, although Haku did send sympathetic glances in her direction every once in a while as he passed by the spot where she lay resting.

More time had passed by; and, feeling that she had gotten over her initial shock, Loki had decided to somewhat rehabilitate herself in the eyes of her mentor by hopping to her training straight away. Unfortunately, this turned out to be yet another terrible mistake. Barely recovered from near death and dripping greenish slime all over, Loki was in no condition to attempt chakra manipulation. However, the constantly-growing feeling of guilt that had been eating away at the girl's insides ever since early morning had stripped her of all common sense that was still left in her exhausted head. Taking a wobbly battle-stance in front of a nearby tree (and making sure that she was well in sight of her ruthless object of affection), Loki had formed a shaky hand-sign and concentrated…

…The results were disastrous. The werewolf's chakra, not very manageable even in ordinary situations, was now just as obedient as a wildcat with its tail set on fire. It burned Loki's hands, electrified her hair and even danced happily around in the atmosphere in the form of golden, mischievous little sparks, utterly ignoring the mental commands of its host. Despite all of the girl's most desperate efforts, her chakra only seemed to get more and more out of control; and instead of going to the soles of her feet as instructed, it flowed all around in turmoil, striking many other miscellaneous body-parts along the way. Once, the savage red stream even hit Loki's nose; and for a brief moment, her vision lit up as the scents of everything for miles and miles around burst out of proportion, merged into a single, overwhelming flurry of information and struck the werewolf's senses all at once, much like a tsunami collapses onto a helpless seaside village. It felt like a hammer descending onto a nail-head, or rather as if a bomb had gone off inside the girl's head.

Loki swayed a little, the back of her brain involuntarily registering that all of the world's molecules must have had different scents, and then her legs folded under her as she collapsed to the ground, face-down onto the sparse autumn vegetation. Evil green and purple sparkles dancing across her vision, Loki tried to get back to her feet; but instead of accomplishing this uneasy task, she doubled up and vomited, over and over, into the grass.

* * *

In front of the happily-crackling bonfire, Haku and Zabuza were finishing up their meal.

When the sounds of Loki retching were brought over to the assassins' side of the glade by a wandering breeze, Haku gave a barely-noticeable flinch the girl's way. Zabuza, who sat with his back to his female trainee's struggle spot, made a point of not noticing this mimicry and shook the crumbs off his hands by rubbing them together over the hungry orange flames. Haku took a sip out of his water canteen. His eyes glazed as he stared at the fire.

"I think she's practicing her chakra control, sir…" he mumbled, not looking up from the glowing red embers.

"Hmph." Zabuza pretended not to hear.

There was a silence.

"I think she's really trying, sir…" Haku decided to try as well.

"And is she succeeding?" Zabuza's reply was curt, gruff and reluctant. There was a pause.

"…I don't think so, sir." At the moment, honesty seemed like the best approach.

"That's the whole point." Zabuza reached for the water canteen himself. Another moment of awkward silence followed.

"She made it out of the lake, sir…" Haku said after a while, though rather uncertainly.

"Good. Then we will repeat this exercise again tomorrow." There was no hint of a grin on the Jounin's now un-bandaged face.

Haku opened his mouth to interject, and then shut it again. The boy understood that Zabuza was right and that the punishment had been just. Yet nevertheless, he felt that it was his responsibility to try and defend the one he had once worked so hard to nurse back to health. After all, nobody likes to know that so much of their time and efforts had all been a waste.

Zabuza picked up a stick and pushed a red-hot ember back into the fire. It engulfed the offering gratefully, flaring up for a brief moment and spitting out a tiny firework of blistering sparks.

"She has got to learn, Haku, and she has got to do it soon. I have no time for this. I was really considering killing her today. And I would, was it not for her Bloodline Limit, or whatever the heck her ability is." The man paused, scrutinizing his student with a frowning eye and making sure that the boy understood. "To be useful to me and the plans I have in mind, she has got to become as good as they get. As good as _you_. (Haku blushed. Loki would have given a lot to be in his shoes at that moment.) But if she doesn't learn fast enough, I _will _kill her, abilities and all."

Haku lowered his eyes and nodded gravely. Of course. It would be nice if Loki stayed, but Zabuza-san's priorities were the most important and had to come first, no questions asked.

"…Sorry, sir," he sighed. "It was my fault as well. After all, I was the one who came up with this whole idea. I just didn't think she--"

"Whatever. _You_'ve got nothing to apologize for." Another ember was prodded thoughtfully back into the flames. "Say, you don't think she did it on _purpose_, did she? Allowed herself to be seen to get the guards to alert the Hunter-nin?" By Zabuza's face, it was hard to judge whether he was joking or not. Most likely, he was being serious.

Haku gave him a _Look_. The bonfire merrily crackled away, sending capering shadows over the thoughtful faces of the renegades…

* * *

Loki was lying on her back, concealed by the withering grass on the other side of the glade. She wasn't practicing anymore. The girl's head was still spinning from her last unsuccessful attempt at controlling her chakra; and the multicoloured lights were currently playing tag with silver arrows, guards with spears and Hidaka's little ginger terriers chasing them round and round in front of her eyes.

Loki's mind was in turmoil. But amidst all that chaos, a small thought poked its head out of the psychological muddle and tugged timidly at the barely functioning end of Loki's messed-up thought-processing machinery…

_I screwed up. I ruined everything and made them all angry. I am an idiot. But I have to redeem myself and prove that I'm worthy. I have to put everything right. I'm a werewolf, after all. I know that I can._

But no, that wasn't it.

In the darkness of confusion, a tiny light-bulb lit up, its minuscule filaments brightening up bit by little bit. Slowly and reluctantly at first, a vague hint of a scheme began to form itself out of the broken recollections of today's events…

In Loki's head, an idea was born.

**End Chapter! …**Whatever could Loki be planning…? O.o I wonder…

…Blah. Because of that stupid spammer, I wasted too much space at the top to answer your questions. Anyway, sorry for taking so long to update and starting off on such a negative note. Not having a very good semester, with everything getting to me lately, and random arseholes abusing my review page. Grr. I dunno when the next update will be posted since I have a lot less time to spare for writing this than before. I'll do the best I can to go through with it, though, just for those of you who care. X3 Peace, y'all.

What else? Oh yes, _answers_. Yes, I know Haku and Zabuza's real ages (you're right, they're 15 and 26), and I made them younger deliberately. Note that I kept the age difference. And yes, they _are _going to age. The reason why I did this, though, was because I wanted to give them some past (with Loki, as well as in general) before the whole Battle on the Bridge ordeal. As for whether or not they're going to die in the Battle, well… that's for me to know and for you to find out. x3 Mwaha.

That's all folks. xP Enjoy the crack… ers. v.v;


	14. Plan

**_Author's Note: _**All right, finally done! xD Took me forever to edit this monster… o.O But anyway, hope you enjoy thirty pages of… of… well, this. It's humongous, yes, but it'll probably be another couple of centuries before I update again. Yeah, this sucks, I know. x.X

Btw, thanks to Multiple Eights for critiquing this… it was very nice of you to spare me a bit of your time, and I'm glad you liked it. -bows respectfully, and sticks out tongue at N00b-

Anyway, on with Chapter Fourteen. X3

_**14. Plan**_

Like humans, dogs were very busy creatures. Just because they didn't have floors to wash or grocery stores to run it didn't mean that they sat around idly on their tails, doing nothing all day.

In fact, in the Unseen Village of Twin Rivers you would seldom find a dog that had no business to go about whatsoever. The beasts scampered all around the place, chasing cats and heavy ox-driven food carts, squabbling over territory and looking for scraps to eat. It was a difficult life. Annoyances constantly came along in the form of fleas, children, angry oxen or cold water being dumped on your head out of the window.

A dog's life had its own dangers as well. You had to constantly be on your guard, for the streets were swarming with boots that were simply _itching _to connect with your backside. And then, there were always dogs that were Bigger Than You.

* * *

A large, scruffy-looking white dog was making its way along one of the darker, emptier village streets. It stopped here and there to sniff at the filth-covered telegraph poles, only to continue merrily on its way a couple of seconds later. Finally, it rounded a corner into a narrow, shadowy alleyway stretching away from the left-hand side of the empty main street. Three more dogs were there, squabbling over a mangled piece of old beef. The newcomer stared at them. They stopped fighting at once, and stared back.

There was no growling… just a drawn-out silence. Which was odd.

A few streets away, Nami Hidaka's little red terrier was browsing through a series of smelly wooden trash-containers, as if he wasn't getting enough to eat at home already.

* * *

For Haku and Zabuza, this was a really, _really _busy week. There was still a lot left to be found out, planned out and _carried _out; and even though Loki with her useful olfactory senses was now out of the game, it didn't really change anything much. Of course, using Loki's nose would have bought the assassins a great deal more time, but there was no way in hell Zabuza was letting the girl near this assignment ever again.

At the week's end, Momochi had already gathered all of the information he needed in order to complete his job. Countless sunrise hours spent productively by the Jounin and his youngest assistant provided excellent results: it was finally established that the food cart arrived at the mansion's hidden back entrance every three days, at exactly four-thirty in the morning. At its approach passwords were usually exchanged, after which the cart was let into the yard through the hidden gate; and then everything went back to normal.

That was it; that was all Zabuza needed to know. It wasn't an entirely foolproof option, but time was pressing and that was the best chance available to the renegades so far. Looking for a better solution would probably demand days and days more, and that was a luxury Zabuza no longer had due to Loki's accursed sloppiness. Thus, he decided to build his plans around the bits and pieces that he had at hand.

After some more careful analyzing of the developing circumstances, the ninja concluded that there was no possible way of getting into the mansion without starting a ruckus. There were plenty of guards around, not to mention all the dogs… And Hidaka's connection with the Military Corps… Bleedin' _hell!_ No matter which way you turned to look at it, it always came down to noise. That, and a very high level of risk. And since both were practically unavoidable, the assassins could only ensure that as little as possible of the former was made.

Hence, according to Zabuza's plan, he and Haku would intercept the food cart just as the back gate would be opening to let it into the courtyard. Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu would be cast sometime beforehand, of course, rendering the security almost blind right up to the very last moment. After that, Haku's Ice Needles would come in, and the guards would be out cold before they even had a chance to squeak. Thus, the ninja would be inside; however, sensing the intruders, the dogs would inevitably warn everybody in the area of their arrival. A commotion would undoubtedly start; but _that_ way (rather than simply hopping over the wall and hoping for the best) there would actually be a greater possibility of getting to Hidaka before he could get away in all the turmoil or send a message to the Military Corps. It was all down to becoming a matter of timing and getting spotted later rather than sooner. Every second was precious. And _this_ way, seconds would be won. That was probably the sole advantage of the food cart plan.

However, the Hunters _would _show up eventually; and this time, the opportunity to escape them would be very slim. There would be more running, more hiding out and more restless, excruciatingly long nights of anxiety and apprehension to come; but, again, it was the best option Haku and Zabuza had. And in the end, their struggles would be greatly rewarded.

Or they had better be, Zabuza thought to himself. They had _better _be.

* * *

In the meantime, Loki was back at working on the sidelines and doing pointless drills. With Zabuza completely engrossed in the developing of his plan, the girl was pretty much left to her own devices. And in-between her long sessions of chakra control practice and various other physical exercises, Loki had a lot of time to ponder about things. Now that she was well-rested and over her initial shock, the wolf-girl was able to think back to the past couple of days and calmly re-analyze everything that had taken place.

The main notion occupying her thoughts, however, was the event that had occurred on that particular evening, after Zabuza had dumped her into the lake. It happened when she had been trying to manipulate chakra, yet again, in a desperate attempt to prove to Zabuza that she was _not _a complete loser. That had failed miserably, the girl's chakra blasting out of control and hitting her own nose. The strength of the blow had caused Loki to collapse, but not before her temporarily-magnified-by-the-chakra senses registered a wide variety of scents from across quite an extensive surrounding area. Back then, these scents had seemed all bundled up together into a confusing and overwhelming mix. Now though, with a clear head and loads of free time on her hands, Loki could just sit back and unravel the knot thread by tiny thread until it actually began to make some sort of sense.

Eventually, it did. And it gave Loki a lot of miscellaneous but useful information; like, for example, that the food cart arrived at the hidden back gate every three days. Loki really wanted to share all that with Zabuza, but she was afraid that this would only get her more scolding for not staying on task – he was still angry with her because of the spying incident.

So Loki talked to Haku instead; and even though he wasn't allowed to relay the assassination plan to her in explicit detail, he provided the girl with a general idea of how it was going to go. In return, Loki told him about what she was able to figure out on her own; but even though it got a polite 'thanks' in return, she could see that it didn't really help much. Most of it had already been figured out without her assistance.

But Loki did not despond, for she had a secret idea of her own that she hadn't shared with anyone. It had started out as a vague thought, turning into a wistful 'what if' sort of contemplation; but eventually, without Loki even realizing, it turned into an almost-realistic scheme. And before the girl knew it, she began to seriously consider this new, daring opportunity of proving herself worthy of Zabuza's praise and respect.

While the two male ninja were busy preparing for the murder, Loki had her own experiments to conduct. Zabuza was paying little attention to her now that the assassination day was approaching, only checking up on her progress every now and then, and making sure that she was present at dinner. Thus, nothing was stopping the girl from taking little mysterious tours all by herself and coming back before anyone even noticed she was gone. And even if her absence _had_ been noted, there were plenty of excuses that Loki could provide.

* * *

The planned date was drawing nearer, and the atmosphere on the little glade was dripping with tension. Zabuza kept chuckling and rubbing his hands excitedly at the thought of profits to be made, and Haku was putting more effort into practicing his Ice Needle Jutsu than ever before. Loki's scheme was ready by that time as well, and she kept shivering nervously at the thought of actually trying to carry it out.

The girl also felt that she needed to inform the other two of her plans in some sort of way. She knew that she couldn't just tell everything straight out; and not only because Zabuza had clearly ordered her to keep her nose out of this whole affair. Nevertheless, Loki did realize that she couldn't just do whatever she pleased because this mission was serious business. And no matter how sure she was that her idea would work and her attempt to help would not fall through, the humans _had to know._ It was another one of those Centre things.

Thus, on the warm, sunny afternoon of the day before the appointed one, Loki found a moment when Haku was practicing on his own, and timidly approached him from the back. She made her presence known with a cough (oh, Loki _knew_ that he knew she was there anyway; but his good manners had a nasty habit of rubbing off on you no matter who you were); and Haku turned around just as the last ice senbon struck its target.

"Yes?" he asked politely. It was rather irritating to be distracted from his work _now_, just when he needed every second of his time to polish up on his Jutsu for the mission; but taking it out on Loki would do nothing to help. Besides, she didn't look as though she simply came over to have an idle chat.

"Haku? I… There is something I must tell you." Loki stared at her feet. She didn't know how to put it. Telling Haku was easier than telling Zabuza, but it was not a very easy task nevertheless.

"Is it important? Can't it wait until _after _the mission, because, you see, Loki, I'm kind of busy right now… My Ice Needles…" Haku hated being insensitive, but right now just wasn't the best time… The _time_… You just never had enough of it.

"That's the problem, Haku. It's _about _the mission."

"The mission?" The boy stopped in mid-senbon-forming. "What about it?" he asked cautiously.

"I… I know a way to make it… well, _easier_. I, I think. Um," Loki stuttered. She realized that it was rather sudden, but she wasn't sure how else to start. She wasn't particularly good at words and introductions and the like.

A brief pause followed as some digesting of information took place. Then…

"_What_? How in the--?! Tell me!" Forgetting his training, Haku whirled around to fully face the girl. Loki lowered her tone, embarrassed by the sudden attention.

"It's not… It's something I'll have to do on my own… I'm afraid," she said quietly. She could already guess what was coming up next.

"_What_? But Zabuza-san said… _You're not allowed to_-- what do you want to _do_?" Haku whispered loudly. He had a look of such indignation on his face that Loki flushed and stammered even harder. This was a foreseeable situation; and she hadn't been expecting an 'okay' for an answer, anyway. Still, the girl was almost beginning to feel ashamed, as though she was breaking some unspoken, but incredibly strict taboo.

"I… I, I, I can't really… see, I can't really explain. I planned it all out and wanted to do it all by myself at first, because it was so… but then I felt that I must warn you because… because… because. So… so… B-but don't worry, I'm sure it will work. I'm pretty sure, at least… It won't be like the last time, I promise. I--" (Haku's glare was so intense now that you could use it to drill holes in a concrete wall) "I know how to get the dogs out of the way!" Loki burst out at last, unable to hold it in any longer. She realized that what she was saying sounded like a complete bunch of rubbish at best, but it was the best she could do.

"_How?!"_ was all Haku could reply.

"I told you, I don't know how to explain it. I…" Loki's voice trailed off. She had to come up with something. Haku would squeeze an answer out of her one way _or_ another, and a small voice inside her head was telling her that the _other_ way was not going to be very pleasant at all.

Loki sighed deeply and decided to try a different approach.

"I want to make the dogs go away, right? Well, it will be kinda… well, kinda like turning into a _big_ dog and telling all of them little ones to get lost. Right? Ahaha…"

In the awkward silence that followed, one could almost _hear _the clang of the cymbals.

"Oh, very amusing," said Haku finally, with an unexpected hint of sarcasm that was quite out of place in his usual speech.

The girl was beginning to sweat heavily.

"I can't… say exactly… how it will be done. I don't know how to put it into words, but… but… I'm _pretty_ sure about this… this thing. But I just want to-- I have to do it myself. I… I am sorry." The wilting grass under Loki's feet was apparently a _very _interesting subject of examination.

This time, it was Haku's turn to sigh. "Look, I know that you like Zabuza-san and you want to show him that you're good enough all on your own an' all, but this is _serious. _You _have _to tell him what you're planning. _He_'ll be able to figure out whether it'll work or not; and anyway, he won't pat you on the head for breaking his rules and rushing into something like this all by yourself. Look, I can't let you do this. Even if… even if you think that you can. If you fail, we will all suffer the consequences, do you understand? And as much as I value your friendship and your wishes to help, I can't let you jeopardize the mission."

Loki kept her gaze on her toes dejectedly. For an eleven-year-old, Haku could sure be mature and strict. Sometimes, he seemed even _more_ firm in his decisions than Zabuza himself. That was what living on the streets for the most part of your life could do to you.

"It… it could be the only way…" was all Loki could add in her own defence, her voice trailing off unsurely. She was already failing, and she knew it.

Haku didn't know whether the girl meant that it was the only way to complete the mission successfully, or the only way to prove her worth to Zabuza. Either way, it was all very troublesome business and he wasn't sure at all about how to react.

"I cannot let you do this," he repeated.

"But…" Loki tried stubbornly.

"I can't let you."

The two ninja-in-training just stood there, facing each other and not saying anything for a long while.

And suddenly, something happened. Haku had no idea what it was; not even later, when he was thinking back to this moment in dismay. He didn't know what exactly managed to get through his common sense's impenetrable defences. Whether it was Loki's devoted determination or his own anxiety at the idea of having to face the Hunter Nin again tonight, the boy couldn't tell. But it was as if _something_ took over him, something inexplicably daring and foolish, something that made him think that there might actually be an _easier way_.

And before he could bite back his own tongue, Haku found himself babbling away rapidly, blurting out the words that he _knew _he was going to regret later on.

"All right, here goes…" the boy murmured, white as chalk. "I hope that you realize how much trouble we'll be in if your plan, whatever it is, goes wrong. If you're really that certain that it will work, then… and only _then… _can you go ahead with it." (The last few words came out with some difficulty.) "But… I hope you do realize that it will be entirely _your _responsibility. And if something happens, it will all be on your conscience, I want you to remember that, Loki." Here, Haku stopped to intake a deep breath. Being mature could be very difficult at times; he was already running out of impressive-sounding phrases. But he could also see Loki grow tenser by the minute. Maybe, just maybe she was changing her mind.

Or perhaps not.

The boy breathed out and continued, this time at an even quicker pace than before.

"I… I am giving you five minutes' time to get away from here. After that, I am going to Zabuza-san and telling him everything you've told me here. I'm sorry, but I hope that you understand that Zabuza-san is just as important to me as he is to you, and I can't keep something this big in secret from him.

"Anyway, I will tell him about your plans. And whatever happens afterwards, _stays _happened. All right? If he will set out and catch you, you will _do what he tells you_. If he tells you to stay put, then you will _stay put. _And if you get caught by Hidaka's guards, you are on your own. We can't risk trying to pull off a rescue; and anyway, even if Zabuza-san did attempt that, it would only be to kill you afterwards. Do you understand, Loki?"

Haku fixed the girl up with a glare. He was a whole head shorter than her, but it didn't make his glares any less threatening. That was another thing that you mastered while living on the streets. Loki could be scary enough when angered; but when it came to ensuring Zabuza's safety, Haku could be even scarier than that. And that was something not many eleven-year-olds could manage.

Loki gulped. For a moment, she just wanted to forget it all and go back to quietly doing her drills in a corner somewhere; but then she remembered the look of disappointment in Zabuza's dark-brown eyes, and his cold, indifferent voice ringing over the lake's surface: '…_And to become a shinobi of MY expectations, you will have to learn how to handle the bloody things just as fast as they _bloody_ present themselves!...'_

Something inside of her lurched. Something massive and extremely proud. She _could _do it because she was _not _a failure. She _could _do it because she was a _werewolf._ She _could _do it because no werewolf would ever be outdone by a stinking human. She _could _do it because she wanted Zabuza to see that she was no worse than others, and that she could come up with clever strategies, too. And she wanted to be praised again, dammit!

Loki made up her mind. This time, for sure. She frowned and clenched her fists, the wolf-feeling reflecting dimly in her unwavering gaze.

"I will do it, Haku. You just carry on and do what you're supposed to, and I will do _my _part. And I won't mess up this time. Promise." You could set cities on fire with the passion in her voice.

Haku sighed, yet again. "If you're sure of it," he said at last. "And now, I will turn away and pretend that nothing is happening for _five whole minutes_. Do what you can, try your best, and _please,_ just be careful. Good luck to you." With this, the boy turned away, showing that the countdown has started _now_.

Loki beamed. "Good luck to you, too!" she whispered.

When Haku turned his head to peek over his shoulder, the girl was no longer there. A couple of leaves landed gently onto the place where she had just been standing. The boy sighed even deeper than before, if it was still possible, silently cursing himself for not having a heart of iron and for understanding the girl's wish to redeem herself in the eyes of his treasured mentor. Perhaps all she needed was a little trust… and if her plan would _actually_ work, it would be even better for them. No dogs in the way sounded great… And Haku was willing to take any risks if it meant that there would be less chance of his precious Zabuza-san getting killed.

He sure hoped Loki knew what she was doing…

* * *

Loki was ecstatic. She knew _exactly _what to do. She was a wolf with a plan. _And_ she was helping Zabuza and Haku with their mission! What more could one want… except for luck, more luck, and good timing?

When she felt that she had gone far enough from their camping spot, Loki stopped. She stood there for a while, swaying gently in the breeze and sniffing at the air around her. The coast seemed to be clear. Loki took in a deep breath and kneeled…

* * *

In five minutes' time, just as he'd promised, Haku ran over to the shady place under a large oak tree, where Zabuza was sharpening his neck-slicing Cleaver (he wasn't going to be using it in the mission. He just liked sharpening it). The little ninja told his master everything that happened on the clearing after Loki had approached him. Zabuza was _not _very happy with this story's ending.

"_WHAT?!!!_" he yelled so loudly that a flock of birds took off into the bright, clear skies. "She's _GONE? _And you let her _GO?_!?"

"N--no, Zabuza-san, it's just that it was all so sudden… I mean she just _ran off_! I didn't know what to do at first; but then, it was already too late! So I decided to come straight to you and tell you what happened, because you'd know what to do much better than me! I swear that's how it was, sir!" Haku was trembling. He _hated _lying to Zabuza-san. Hopefully, it was for everybody's good. Well, for the assassins' good, in any case.

"You little liar. You knew perfectly well what had to be done. But _you_ let her go on _purpose!_" Here he said an unprintable word, and then another unprintable word. After that, he continued, "…Very well, then. We're going to look for her. And when we find her, I'll… I'll…" And here, Zabuza let out a string of words that were _so_ unprintable that they turned Haku's ears an embarrassed shade of crimson.

Without further hesitation, the two ninja set out to look for the runaway. They went as far as the village itself, but even there they did not find the girl. Zabuza produced a couple of water doppelgangers to scan the surrounding forest, and made Haku check all the streets in the vicinity. With a 'you know that I'll know it if you let her go _again_', the Jounin saw his apprentice off and finally quit searching himself about half an hour later, rounding back to where he left his newly-sharpened Cleaver. There were enough problems on his plate already, in form of last-minute preparations to be made; or things to be packed, in case they had to make a quick escape. So he entrusted the pursuit entirely to Haku; a difficult decision in itself, but one that couldn't be helped.

And Haku tried his hardest; he really did this time because he'd given his warnings. But even _then_ he couldn't find his team-mate. He saw few people along the way; and once, a shaggy white dog scampered out of his path as he hopped past. But that was it; Loki was nowhere to be seen. It was as if she had completely vanished from the face of the planet.

…When he reported back to Zabuza, probably for the first time in his life, that he'd failed, he got stared at hard in the eye. After that, the older assassin spat onto the ground and swore quietly.

"Very well," he hissed calmly but frostily, in a tone that suggested that it was _not _very well at all. "Go hide at the spot that we've chosen for tonight's job and see what happens. At any signs of trouble, come back here straight away and we're leaving this place. Screw everything; the mission, the money _and _the brat, I am not sticking around to be captured by those bloody Hunters.

"…But! If by some miracle everything goes smoothly, just stay where you are, and I will join you at the time that we've planned. Although I do highly doubt that it will happen now… damn that brat…" The man cracked his knuckles, murmuring something under his nose that vaguely sounded like 'that's what I get for liking to risk'. Oh well. He was going to have a long and serious chat with Haku about this incident after this was all over.

"What, you're still here?" he growled, glancing up a second later only to witness his apprentice evaporate from sight with a delayed and slightly frightened nod. It was too late to do anything effective about this now, the man mused darkly; so why waste chakra and energy looking for a foolish brat when they could simply observe the events from aside?

Whatever just happened, had already happened. That was all to it. And it sure was risky, but all that was left for the ninja to do now was to rely on their tough renegade luck.

And Zabuza _always _took his chances.

In his mind though, Momochi was silently cursing the day when he'd let this girl join his group.

* * *

…Haku hurried deftly along a well-memorized path, his stomach lurching. Why, oh _why _didn't he press an _exact_ explanation of everything out of Loki when he had the chance? But… this whole thing, it had all been so sudden, so out of the blue… What he'd done had seemed like a good idea at the time, and… and it wasn't like he'd had any time to give anything a thorough thinking-through, anyway… But now, his master's whole carefully-crafted plan was about to fall apart. And it was all his, Haku's, fault.

Or maybe it wasn't. When it came down to the probability of having to deal with the Hunter Nin, you would readily trust _anyone _who claimed to have a better plan.

And yet…

Despite his temporary relief at Loki's escaping Zabuza's immediate wrath, Haku was already beginning to regret ever letting her go in the first place. Something was going to happen; and he had a very bad feeling about it, too…

* * *

It almost felt like the night of the full moon, except that it was daytime. Loki sped through the streets, choosing the emptiest shortcuts she could find. She dodged into shadowy alleyways whenever she sensed people approaching. The werewolf-girl felt so insecure, running around in broad daylight like _that_; it seemed as though _everybody _stopped to stare and knew what she was up to.

Loki knew the way well. Her supervision over the past few days being reduced to minimal, she could go pretty much wherever she wanted to during her resting periods (given, of course, that she came back before dinner). The girl used this time well, going out into the village and exploring the surroundings on her own. She had done much observing, and found that there was a lot to be learned. Particularly about dogs.

Dogs were very interesting creatures, indeed. Loki had learned that they barked and attacked you if they thought you were a threat; however, they tended to leave you alone if you turned out to be a _bigger _threat than they had anticipated.

Loki had also learned that dogs had a lot more freedom than humans. Being a dog was much easier. No, it wasn't as if they were _allowed _into places; they simply _went _there, and nobody noticed. Nobody asked to see a dog's identification papers, or whether it was invited over, or if it was of age. If a dog didn't belong where it went, it was nicely shown out the door with a kick under its tail; but nobody ever went to call the authorities.

And in the world of dogs, size _did _matter. The bigger you were, the more influence you had. And, again, you could go pretty much anywhere, and no one tried to stop you. At least, not one sane dog did. Loki soon learned that, as well as a great deal of many other things. Before long, the world of dogs became an open book to her; and that was when she had realized that her idea was a doable business, after all.

Loki's plan in itself was quite simple, much of its invention owing to Hidaka's little red terrier.

According to the familiar scents that Loki managed to make out of the whole complicated bundle of them on that eventful evening, the terrier was allowed in _and_ out of the courtyard in question. The girl figured that the dog must have probably had constant access to the outside world; or at least it hadn't gotten out by a mere accident. And that made Loki think – what if… what if _other _dogs could come and go from the household whenever they pleased?

That was a thought. Loki had wanted to share it with Haku and Zabuza at first, but later she dismissed that notion. It wasn't like Zabuza would listen to her anyway. And besides… Loki really wanted to participate in the mission as well. And not only for Zabuza's praise. The wolf-girl had been brought up believing that she lived to serve; and she was already so used to being the humans' indispensable tool that she didn't much like the idea of those… of those _weaker beings _managing all by themselves. Why not use a werewolf's services if you already had one at your disposition? Loki couldn't understand that.

But then again, nobody seemed to realize that she was a werewolf. That was it, Loki told herself. Otherwise, of course, they would let her handle everything. Of course. They surely would. And since they'd let her handle everything anyhow, Loki thought, then she could surely do a little work by herself, on her own initiative. Since she'd be allowed to anyway. _If _they knew. And it would only be a _little _work. And she'd make sure to be _very_ careful this time. Yes.

And so, it was decided. Quickly and easily. Loki was going to venture out into the village, all on her own.

Naturally, she wouldn't be able to get very far if she went around looking like a savage in a dress. So she chose to do the next best thing.

She went around looking like a really big dog instead.

* * *

Rather sooner than she would have liked to, Loki sensed the approach of the warm, multicoloured cloud of all-too-familiar scents that usually hung over Hidaka's household. A few moments later, the mansion itself appeared into the view. It loomed in the hazy, dusty air of an unusually hot autumn day, the giant red-brick wall around it looking just as big and impenetrable as ever. It always looked that way, no more and no less. But something about seeing it now made Loki tremble with anxiety. What if this didn't work after all…?

The guards were on their duty, as usual. Loki made a few circular motions in the air with her nose, the kind of movement that dogs usually make when trying to intake a larger picture from afar. Then, gathering up her courage, she made a few timid steps towards the distant back gate.

The dogs behind the brick wall exploded in a chorus of yaps, snarls and howls of fury as the white-furred werewolf pitter-patted closer and closer towards their fortress. Loki stopped again, her nervousness returning quickly as the unwelcoming sounds reached her earshot. _Come on, you can do it_, she soothed herself. _You can do it._

_Big! Stranger! Big! Stranger! Go away! Go away!_

_Don't listen to them, _Loki thought as she was approaching her target steadily. _Humans can hear but they can't understand. Relax... Calm down…_ She thought about Zabuza, about how glad he would be if the mission was a success. That gave her confidence, and Loki continued on her way.

Closer and closer she came. Nearer and nearer grew the mansion.

_Comes this way! Comes this way! Careful, careful, _warned the dogs. But their desperate warnings were wasted on their human masters. Loki took a few more steps. Stopped. Then, a few _more _steps. Almost there…

The guardians paid little attention to the scruffy white dog coming slowly to a halt not a long way away from their post. Loki eyed them cautiously, sizing up their lances and wondering whether they would go for her spinal cord first or be content with simply skewering her head. She licked her lips in anxiety. She was afraid to do this, really afraid. She knew how much threat a human with a weapon could pose, especially if he knew how to use one. Thankfully though, there was no full moon to drive her crazy and get her to reveal her true colours as a werewolf; but you just never knew how much humans could figure out simply by observing you. Humans might have been weak, but they were by no means stupid.

Loki's hesitance was interrupted as one of the securities finally noticed that she was still there.

"Hey, what's up with that dog?"

Loki got pointed at with the sharp end of a lance. Something large and slimy did a somersault in the pit of her stomach, and her heart pounded even harder against her rib cage. Those memories; they were beginning to flood the back of her mind once again, just like that time… _The reformatory... Escape... A man with a silver spear, approaching her as she lay, barely hidden by the undergrowth…_ No, not _again_!

"Do you think it's a stray?"

Loki resurfaced with some difficulty, straining herself to stay on task. To stay cool. At least she looked like a _dog_ in full daylight, and not like a rabid beast that had to be put down. Nevertheless, facing two armed humans like that was intimidating. The wolf-girl felt a sudden urge to turn around and run, run and never come back; but it was too late. She had already promised to her _masters _that she'd do her part. There was no way she could back out of it now.

Both men's eyes were already on the waiting werewolf. It was now or never. It _had _to be now.

Loki wagged her tail, unsurely at first. She had watched other dogs interact with humans before, and had the basic movements vaguely memorized. It was like trying to recite a greeting in a foreign language: she sure hoped she was getting everything right. In the background, the real dogs were going ballistic with fear and rage.

"I think it's just hungry. Ignore it, it'll go away," said one of the guards, eyeing the big dog cautiously.

But Loki did not go away. Instead, she began wagging her tail much harder; and then, even harder than _that_, to the point where she felt that her rear would come apart at the seams if she didn't stop soon. When that didn't seem to make an impression, she pressed her ears against her head, bowing it a bit, and pawed the ground in front of her. Realizing that this as well must have been too little to achieve the effect she was going for, Loki emitted a series of soft whines and, front paws still outstretched, began to approach the two men. That was what other dogs usually did. Or… that was how she remembered it, anyway.

"We have no food for you, big fella! Go away now, shoo, shoo…" one of the guards tried to push the persistent dog aside with his boot, but Loki didn't budge. Her tail still a blur, she slipped in-between the men's legs towards the back gate and clawed at the damp, brownish brick. Behind the hidden entrance the noise had subsided just a bit, as if the dogs were moving away to defend their territory from a safer distance. Just in case.

"No, _no, _can't be going in there!" the security's kicks were getting much more painful and insisting now, but the werewolf wasn't about to give in. Seeing how none of her efforts were having the desired effect, Loki decided to allow the last and most revolting thing happen. It was something that a true werewolf _loathed; _especially when in wolf-shape It was something that the girl had let no other human do to her before. In most other circumstances, Loki would rip out throats for that. But today, it just had to be done.

Wincing in disgust, Loki rubbed the side of her head against a guard's lance-free palm and allowed him to _scratch her ear_. Uggh.

The man that had been kicking her frowned and struck her heavily with his weapon's shaft across the back. Loki whimpered loudly. Only the thought of Zabuza's cold brown eyes kept her from lunging at his throat. Only that one vague thought. Stay calm. Must stay calm.

"Go away, mutt! We have no food!" The soldier's bark was as good as any dog's. Loki kept her tail wagging. Just a little bit longer; come on, come _on…_

There was the shortest of pauses, and then the light bulb of realization finally lit up.

"Hey, hold on a sec… Maybe that's a hound from the household? A stray wouldn't actually try to get _in_, would it?" asked the other guardian, caressing Loki's coarse, dusty fur. For one insane moment, Loki felt like leaping up and licking his cheek. _Yes! Good human, clever human! _At last, arriving at something here…

But her bubble was burst the very next second with a really, _really_ pointy pin.

"Strange, I don't remember ever seeing _that _one…" said the guard with the painful kick. Loki wished she could tear his limbs apart, very slowly, piece by tiny piece…

"Well, Lord Hidaka has _loads _of dogs… I don't remember what half of them look like…" The first guard was now rumpling Loki's cheeks. But at this point she loved him so much that she wouldn't mind it even if he tried to scratch her belly.

"The dogs over on that side are going _nuts!_" the Painful Kick gestured over to the brick fence. "I tell ya, it's a goddamn stray."

"These dogs are always like that… It's in their herre… hairy… harry-deterry… They were born like that, all right? To bark and to bite. 'S why they're here! Anyway, you know what they'll do to us if one of Lord Hidaka's dogs goes missing because of our carelessness!"

"But letting in a _stray_? I don't think Lord Hidaka would be very happy about _that_…" Apparently, the Painful Kick was not about to go down without a fight.

"Look, it knows _exactly_ where it's going! It came here because it knows that there's an entrance at this very spot--" The last seven words were said in a barely audible whisper.

"It _came _here because it was _hungry!_"

"Hey, hey, I know you're mistrustful of 'em, but it was just one bite long ago, okay? You can't go taking it out on all dogs now, especially not on Lord Hidaka's dogs! Besides, this one seems friendly… He-hey, big fella!"

Loki's cheeks got stretched out into different directions and back again several times, like some sort of a miniature furry accordion. She now looked as though she was trying to make some very deformed kind of a grin. Well, you had to have your amusement after a long, boring day as a guard on duty…

The Painful Kick harrumphed in a disgruntled sort of manner. "And how, may I ask, did it get out of there (a thumb was jerked in the direction of the mansion again) in the first place, then?"

"Oh, don't ask me… Lord Hidaka's little pet-dog does it all the time! Maybe this one followed it or something… Or got out by accident when the shifts were changing… I dunno…"

Loki wondered if by 'Lord Hidaka's little pet-dog' the man referred to the little red terrier. In the meantime, the Painful Kick was still looking sceptical.

"Never happened before…" he said, though sounding a bit unsure.

"You never know… We aren't always on this shift, are we…"

"So… what do we do?" asked the Kick. He was beginning to waver, and that was good. Loki only wished they'd hurry up and decide on something. Her tail hurt from all the wagging, and she felt that her cheeks would never be the same again.

Meanwhile, the barking behind the wall was getting overwhelming.

"I say, let's let it in, just in case. Anyway, if it really _is _a stray, our dogs will rip it apart. But at least we'll know for sure, and no-one will hold us responsible if one of this household's hounds gets lost."

"Well…"

The world was waiting tensely.

"Well… You've got a good point there." The war seemed to be finally coming to an end. The Kick pondered about that for a bit longer, and then nodded briefly. "Oh, what the heck. Let's let it in."

Loki held her breath, and for a second forgot all about the wagging. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Were they actually going to let her inside? The impenetrable Hidaka defences were finally giving way…?

The guard that had been caressing the wolf-girl's head pressed something on the wall in a motion that an untrained eye would find difficult to follow. A few words were exchanged, and a tense pause followed. Loki waited. She prepared to pounce, just in case.

Finally, something deep inside the wall clicked. An unseen mechanism began to whirr dully; and with much rusty creaking, the tired old gate was roused into awakening. Loki followed tiny crumbles of red brick cascading down from above with wide eyes. It was the first time that she was watching the hidden entrance open from close up.

Next, a crack appeared on the wall, turning into a long straight line and eventually widening into an opening. A puff of new scents rolled out from behind it, enveloping Loki's nose in a veil of new information. Somebody's face, partly obscured by the shadows, glared at the two men from the inside.

"Where?" asked the face a one-word question. The guards understood.

One of them gave Loki a slight prod, pushing her towards the opening. She measured the wall with her eyes up and down once more, still not quite believing that this was really happening, and then slipped quickly inside before the humans could change their minds.

Behind the giant brick wall, the dogs went suddenly quiet.

* * *

In the shadows of the abandoned alleyway, Haku was waiting. He had gotten there a short while after Loki had disappeared behind the hidden back gate, and thus didn't have the slightest clue about whether she had succeeded or not. The boy did notice that the dogs seemed awfully quiet this afternoon, but he waved it off as simply a trick of his imagination.

Time oozed by slowly. Nothing was happening. Haku kept waiting.

A cart rolled by, creaking ominously as it jumped up and down on the uneven cobblestone road. Haku jerked his head up at this, involuntarily being reminded of Hidaka's own food cart. But that obviously wasn't it, and he went back to being slightly bored.

…It was growing dark already, but there was still no sign of any trouble. Haku was wondering if Loki would come at all. Maybe Zabuza had gotten a hold of her himself, after all. Ooh, this would not be a pretty sight…

But something was still missing from the atmosphere. Something that you wouldn't know to be there in the first place until it was taken away. It took Haku a while to realize what it was. Strangely enough, the dogs were still rather quiet. He found that quite… disquieting.

* * *

Loki was in Hidaka's courtyard. She was inside. She was also rather dazed, because she still couldn't believe that it had just happened. But when she got over her initial shock, she realized that the bulk of the task at hand was still ahead of her.

Loki didn't necessarily go homicidal on every living thing in sight after she _changed_. That only happened during the full moon; or if something had excited her hunting senses, like the scent of fresh blood in large quantities. Nevertheless, in her wolf-shape, the dogs saw her as a threat. As a really _big _threat. And now, this threat was on _their_ property.

On one hand, they felt that they needed to defend their territory. On the other hand, it _was _a big threat. And now, there was no brick wall between them and this threat. That sort of thing never happened before. Thus, the dogs weren't really sure about what to do. For now, they huddled around the werewolf in a wide semicircle, eyeing it apprehensively from a relatively safe distance.

Loki was acutely aware of about a dozen pairs of eyes boring into her, sizing her up and down and across, and probably calculating which of her body-parts was the most detachable of the bunch. The wolf-girl knew that she had to begin before the dogs did; otherwise, it could turn extremely bloody. And that was an unnecessary complication that she was hoping to avoid. She shifted from one paw to another uneasily. What was it that one said in such circumstances?

_Uh… hello…?_ Loki tried in canine. Words came out with some difficulty – her tongue had to give them a powerful prod in the backside to get them to budge. She suddenly felt like an explorer who'd ventured out deep into the jungle only to stumble upon a tribe of hungry-looking natives and realize that the local slang dictionary had been forgotten at home.

The dogs didn't move a muscle. They didn't as much as blink. It was unnerving.

_I, um, I, um, uh… _Loki was struggling to find the right words. It was a bit hard, considering that she'd only had a couple of days to practice beforehand. Loki was bad enough at negotiating in human; but here, she could only rely on her massive size to make an impression.

_Um, not trying to be any _trouble_ or anything… _the werewolf started again, struggling hard to sound impressive.

The dogs were waiting. Loki was lost in an unfamiliar territory without as much as a compass. Fighting, now _that_ was something she could understand. It was a lot less awkward. You just leaped, ripped apart and worried about protecting your own hind. You didn't have to worry about causing trouble. But the problem here was, if Loki _did _cause trouble (in this case by ripping apart all of the dogs in question), there would be trouble for everyone; in which case, Zabuza would get nothing done. And _that _kind of defeated the whole purpose.

The dogs were _very _patient. They had to be, because it wasn't every day that a hulking heap of muscles and fangs tried to come to any understandings. It was usually the other way around.

_I will promise not to cause any trouble, _Loki was slowly scrambling out of the swamp, _if you will, if you will, um, um… stay quiet and not make any noise, say, for the rest of the night. No matter what goes on, no noise. And no trouble from me. So, how about that?_

The wolf-girl loved the way she could think so soberly despite being in her wolf-form. No full moon in the sky made a world of difference. Her mind was clear, completely clear of all those simple, animal thoughts; and she could even think in full sentences, like she did when she was human-shaped. That, of course, helped a lot. She could actually _notice _things around her this way. She could notice, for example, that the dogs were doing something that would be the equivalent of snickering in human understanding. She wondered what was so amusing. She was being intimidating… wasn't she?

_Hthe big one is hscaredhh_, she heard someone growl.

_The big one don't want to be trouble... the big one knows we rip her apart,_ barked somebody else.

That wasn't it at all! She was only trying to discuss matters peacefully because of Zabuza, otherwise she would just tear them all to shreds just like useless sacks of slush that they were, and... but… well, Loki had to admit, she _was _feeling a little bit restless. But that wasn't helping the situation at all, because the dogs were catching on. Slowly but surely, they were beginning to realize that the big bad wolf in front of them was not going to cause them any harm. All around the wolf-girl, courage was gradually returning.

_R-r-rip the big one, _a third dog suggested, from somewhere behind the shaggy tails. The idea was taken well. A couple more hounds yapped in agreement.

In the semicircle, a low growling was starting.

_Rip the big one! Rip! Her! Apart! …Rip the big one!_

_This is getting bad_, Loki thought, pressing her ears against her head, her hackles rising. She'd thought she'd have some difficulty at the gates, but she had never foreseen this. Oh well, let them come at it. That only made things easier. Fighting was something Loki was on first-name terms with.

The semicircle began closing in, but the dogs took their time attacking. Growling '_rip her apart!'_ was easy; but when it came to doing the ripping part itself, _that_ was where hesitation began. Somebody had to be first. And that meant risking your own limbs, or eyes.

Or even head.

All around, the atmosphere itself felt like one giant tightly-taut bow-string. And then, all the tension, concentrated in a single deadly arrow of fur-covered, jaw-clashing wrath, was suddenly released. Finally making up its mind, one of the dogs lunged at Loki's throat. There was a moment's vision of flashing, foam-flecked molars, and then…

_Splatter_, went the blood, turning the yellowing grass crimson. Loki had opened her own jaws, set with sharp, three-inch-long fangs; and the daring attacker fell away with a torn, bleeding shoulder. A second hound leaped at the intruder through the air; but it, too, was caught and brought down before it could do any harm. Loki snorted, licking blood off her lips. She waited for more, but the rest of her foes were quick on the uptake. They might have never met werewolves before, but they sure knew better than to mess with a glaring heap of dagger-sharp fangs that _meant business_. None of them moved as Loki fixed them all with a grim, savage glower.

_Listen to me! _she ordered, her voice gruff and shaky with agitation. It was turning out that with _these_ dogs you had to be clear and concise. And, preferably, menacing. If you weren't all three, then perhaps 'dinner' would be the next most descriptive word to use.

_I will not hurt you… if you do what I say… _she repeated, her tone low and threatening now.

The dogs listened. It went really quiet, except for the soft whining of the injured hounds down on the ground.

_I am not here to stay. I will leave soon. But you must stay quiet! No matter what happens! No matter who else comes tonight! You must _not _make any noise! You hear me? _Loki sure hoped she was being intimidating enough this time.

…_Or I will rip the lot of you to pieces! _she added as an afterthought.

The dogs understood. She could feel it in their scents. The fear. It was increasing by the minute. Good.

_Two humans will come, that will Smell Like This… _Then, in a complicated series of yaps, she explained the scents of Haku and Zabuza to the dogs. _Do not attack them! Do not make noise! Stay out of the way! Or I will hurt you. Am I clear?_

There was a whole pack of dogs, and only one young werewolf. They could have taken on the werewolf anyway. They could have made noise and gotten the humans to help them. The werewolf wasn't _that_ much stronger. But it had Fangs. It was _Bigger. _And it sounded big. It acted intimidating, and the dogs were intimidated. As long as the charm held, the dogs would stay quiet.

Loki only hoped that she could keep up the performance until Haku and Zabuza showed up. She couldn't get into the house and kill Hidaka herself because dogs weren't allowed into the mansion, and she wasn't all that good at sneaking in any case. If she tried to get in on her own, she would surely start a commotion. And that, once again, would kill the entire purpose of the enterprise.

On the brighter side, having witnessed the savage ferocity of the newcomer, the dogs were fully willing to cooperate. Thus, Loki just had to wait for her masters and keep the canine guardians in check in the meantime.

* * *

A gloomy evening descended onto the village streets. All around, gates were closing, equipment was stored away and food stalls were being cleared out for the night. In tiny houses, kerosene lamps were being lit because somewhere further north a hurricane had brought down the electricity lines.

Cold winds carried heavy storm clouds over the village, and every now and then one could hear the low grumbling of the thunder. Somewhere, a dog was barking; and somewhere else, another one responded in trills of high-pitched yaps. Only behind Hidaka's giant brick wall, the dogs were quiet.

Haku didn't know how much time had passed. He witnessed the moon rise, and watched the pallid sickle hide and reappear from behind the thick, dark clouds wafting high above his head. _How long until morning?_ he wondered wearily.

It seemed like an eternity before the boy sensed a slight movement behind him. From the shadows came the sound of somebody dropping lightly onto his feet. Haku thought he also heard the soft 'chink' of a weapon being drawn.

"Anything interesting happening?" said a soft whisper right by the boy's ear. Almost soundlessly, Zabuza had come to crouch beside his trainee in the darkness of the alleyway.

"Not as far as I can tell, sir," Haku answered, not taking his gaze off the distant mansion.

"What about the brat, any sign of her?" Zabuza's voice was dripping with irritation at the mention of Loki.

"Nossir!" came the rushed reply.

"You think they're interrogating her right now, just as we speak?"

"I don't think she's even here, sir," said Haku thoughtfully. "I haven't seen her at all, and there was no sign of any struggles going on. Everything was calm when I arrived, and it stayed exactly the same way through the whole time that I've been here."

Zabuza contemplated this. It sounded truthful enough.

"All right," he said finally. "We're waiting for the cart, then. Prepare your Ice Needles, Haku. We must be sure to give the guests a _proper _welcome…"

* * *

A covered cart rolled along an abandoned old road, mud splashing thickly under its wheels. Tall grasses brushed against its rough, wooden borders. High above, dry leaves were whispering in a chilly morning breeze.

Three men sat in the cart, all of them silent. One of them was holding the reins of the horse, but it needed no guiding. It had traversed this same road so many times now that it no longer needed any humans to know where it should be going.

The cart took a few lazy turns, crossed a bridge and was already approaching the outskirts of the Unseen Village of Twin Rivers. It was four-twenty in the morning. Not even the roosters were up this early. Well, maybe _just_ the roosters.

Swirling greyish mist was creeping down the silent streets, drowning out the sounds of the hooves on the cobblestone road. It stirred in the air, saturating it with stifling dampness, and floated above the distant Twin Rivers in wispy, dishevelled clouds. By the time the required street was finally reached, the mist was already so thick that one could barely see the tips of his fingers if he outstretched an arm in front of him. But the cart kept going.

…In a dark alleyway nearby, Zabuza was uttering the last words of his murmured incantation when Haku stirred in his look-out corner on the ground.

"Sir, I think I hear something… No, I can _definitely_ hear it! Hoof-beats! Someone's approaching us," he exclaimed in an excited half-whisper.

Zabuza lowered his hands, having finished casting his infamous Hiding Mist Technique (having the real mist at his disposition tonight certainly helped a great deal). He could hear it now, too. Clip-clop. Clip-clop. The sound of hooves on the cobblestones, fast-approaching. Unlike Haku or anyone else that would happen to wander by through the area this very morning, the Jounin could see through his own Jutsu perfectly. And now he saw it, too – a cart was coming, and it was definitely approaching the hidden back gate. There was no doubt about it. It was _that_ cart. Zabuza grinned unpleasantly.

"Get ready for my signal, Haku…"

At the hidden back gate, the guards squinted to make out the faces of the cart-drivers approaching through the mist. Just to be sure, one of them raised his lance while the other demanded:

"Password!"

The word sounded muffled in the moist, suffocating air. On the cart, there was a moment's silence; then the man holding the reins said, a bit unsurely:

"Er… muffins. With… caramel sauce? Master's favourite… um?"

(Nami Hidaka could get a bit… odd… when it came to coming up with passwords. Perhaps he found it amusing, the idea of people delivering food having to exchange matching word-codes.)

There was another pause from the guarding end of the conversation, and then:

"And we will be having strawberry cakes tonight. Um."

It was really clever. No strangers could have _ever _guessed that the password was something as silly as a strawberry cake. Convinced of the newcomers' authenticity, one of the guards raised a hand and pressed a seemingly ordinary brick right above his head. Something inside the wall clicked, whirred and then the wall spoke with a creaky, gruff-from-the-lack-of-sleep voice.

"Yerss…?"

"Sausages in a bun," said the guard.

"Whaaa… What the hell…" Insomnia seemed to have made the voice in the wall a little bit slow on the uptake.

"You know! Sausages in a _bun_," repeated the guard irritably. "Y'know, these foreign things that were brought to us from… from… Oh, the password, dammit, the _password!_"

"Ohhhh…" the voice seemed to vaguely recall that something important was supposed to be going on at this time of night. Inside the wall, something began to make rusty sounds again. Outside, the cart-horse stomped one of its hooves and snorted impatiently. Then, just as a part of the stony surface began to separate and steadily slide aside--

--It all happened in a matter of seconds. There was a soft 'whoosh'. One of the carter's bodyguards slumped sideways, as if in slow motion; and then, finally losing his balance, fell out onto the road. Whoosh. The other bodyguard and the carter himself were sitting perfectly still, but upon a closer examination one would see several thin, pointy needles sticking out of their throats. Whoosh, whoosh. Before the two guards of the gate could figure out what was going on, their own necks came to look as though they belonged to some strange, icy hedgehogs. Soon, the senbon melted and seeped away in thin trickles of water; however, the men remained to lie motionlessly on the ground.

The carter's horse hadn't been spared, either. Horses tended to make noise. And in the situation in question, noise was obviously not wanted.

Two figures sprang out of the fog. The smaller one was panting, one of the deadly needles clutched in its hand. The larger one didn't as much as glance at the bodies – its attention was focused entirely on the giant brick wall.

"It's not moving!" the large figure swore in Zabuza's voice.

The man was right. The part of the wall that had already begun to move aside stopped frozen still, with only a thin crack breaking its surface. Behind it, the small hidden world was waiting tensely.

At Zabuza's side, Haku was awaiting further instructions. His mentor spat onto the ground. More setbacks. Bloody great.

"We're going over," he muttered finally, realizing that the wall was not going to budge and that they had to act quickly; and prepared for the leap. There was no choice left now. They had to get in one way or another. And they had to do it fast.

"Yessir!" whispered Haku, all of his muscles tensing like springs about to unwind.

But their jump was never to be made.

Suddenly, the once-hidden gate shuddered, sending down a cascading shower of dust and crushed brick particles. Slowly, it resumed its uncomplicated task of sliding aside until an opening wide enough for a cart was formed. Beyond it, there was silence. Not even a movement. Zabuza thought about it, and decided to take his chances. He always did, in the end.

On the other side of the gate, the courtyard was empty. Or it had seemed so on the first glance, at least. For a moment, the mist revealed an image of a man kneeling on the withering grass, his neck bent at an odd angle. The fingers of his left hand were curled around a large iron lever in the wall – the man's dead weight had been pulling it down, apparently causing the gate to open. On the bricks in front of him, something black had been spattered.

Zabuza turned briskly before the nearby bush even had a chance to rustle. Haku noticed his master's movement and himself prepared to strike down the invisible enemy. There was a moment of stillness as breath was being drawn, and--

From under a misty veil, Loki emerged unsteadily. She was trembling slightly and wiping the blood off her face with a filthy fist. Her once-new kunoichi outfit looked as though it had been attacked by a pair of runaway rabid scissors. Haku lowered his weapon, gaping at the apparition, but there was no time for any questions or surprised remarks.

Zabuza sized the girl down with an icy death-glare, spat out a brief "Stand guard while we're gone", and vanished into the thick fog ahead, Haku at his heels. He'd get to the bottom of this when he'd have time later on. But in the meantime, there were things to be done.

Loki nodded gravely at the two departing backs and retreated to her former position in the dried undergrowth. Well, at least nobody wanted to _kill_ her here… yet. From behind, the wolf-girl could feel a pair of anxious eyes drilling holes in the back of her head.

_You stay quiet, _she hissed, turning around. _I'm still the bigger one around here, remember?__

* * *

_

When the Jounin and his apprentice had gotten over the inner wall, they found themselves surrounded by a garden stretching away into the misty gloom. Squat cherry-blossom trees extended their leafless branches upwards, like spectres praying to the dark, murky sky. An eerie silence hung over the place. The only finishing touch that was missing from the picture was the stench of a nearby swamp and, perhaps, a pair of menacing, glowing yellow eyes.

The yellow eyes _were_ present, though. Zabuza stared down at them just as he was about to soundlessly open that exact door of the mansion which, according to his memory, was supposed to have a kitchen on the other side of it. A dog was crouching under that door, watching the two ninja rather apprehensively. For a split second, there was a shocked, still-movement-filled pause as the assassins expected it to explode in a hurricane of fury, vicious jaw-clashing and _noise_. But instead of raising an alarm, the dog simply got up and scurried away into the hazy obscurity, whimpering gently. Soon it was out of sight, but even then no barking followed. Zabuza unfroze and exchanged glances with Haku. He would have killed the dog on the spot, but… the way it behaved was so odd that it would have caught anyone unawares. Running away quietly was _not _what ordinary dogs did when their territory was being invaded by strangers. Just to be on the safe side of things, Zabuza sent a kunai after it into the darkness. There was a muffled yelp, and then everything was still again. No barking. No noise.

The ninja nodded at his apprentice and slipped inside without giving this a further thought. It was strange all right; but there was no time to wonder about _anything_.

There were no other guards around. Not in the kitchen, anyway. Though this was probably the case because the entrance from the kitchen into the mansion itself lay through the servants' living quarters. Apparently, Hidaka thought that no one could get inside unnoticed as long as there were loads of people hanging around the doorways at all times.

He obviously hadn't been paying much attention in his Ninja Studies class.

In a couple of moments, the servants' quarters were left far behind, none of their residents disturbed from their sleep. Well… almost none of them. By chance, a slight draft, created when the curtain dividing the room from the kitchen had been moved aside to let the ninja through, carried all the way to a young woman drowsing away in a corner. Involuntarily, she shifted over a bit to get out of the nuisance's way, accidentally prodding a little servant boy curled up on the floor not too far from her foot. The boy jerked and sat up, roused from his sleep by this rough treatment. He sat like that for a while, rubbing the hurt spot and muttering something sluggishly under his breath, before suddenly realizing that he was… thirsty. Yeah, that, and hungry as well. Hungry… they ran out of food yesterday evening, and tonight more provisions were supposed to arrive with the food cart! Yes, the cart! _All right, and it must already be here, too,_ the servant boy thought. Well, there was certainly plenty of food in there…

Shaking off the last of his sleep, the boy got up from the floor and headed outside.

…In the meantime, Zabuza was already standing over a sleeping Nami Hidaka, in the bedroom on the second storey of the house. They had made it up the stairs without much trouble; the mansion itself seemed rather deserted. And it wasn't that large, either. Hidaka's bedroom, in fact, took up most of the second floor. The door to it was heavily equipped with all sorts of intricate locks and other such fancy security measures, but all it had taken to get past this nuisance was a bit of picking with Haku's senbon and a frustrated swing or two with a well-sharpened kunai. And now, Zabuza's mission was almost accomplished…

…Haku was waiting for his mentor in the doorway. The young ninja didn't want to approach the future victim, nor did he want to see the face of the man they were going to kill. He was beginning to feel nauseous, and wished for nothing more but to get out of here as fast as possible.

Zabuza, on the other hand, took a second to examine the face of that sly, elusive old bastard that had taken such meticulous measures just to keep his skin out of trouble. Heh, didn't help you one bit, thought the Demon maliciously. He was not a very sympathetic person when it came down to assassinating.

Suddenly, as if sensing the danger in some uncanny way, Hidaka opened his eyes. He saw the large figure looming in front of him in the darkness, gave several sleepy, teary blinks and squinted to get a closer look. In the gloom, he could almost swear that he saw a hellish light flicker in the dark figure's eyes for a split second. Then, it was gone.

"W-- who are you? Who are you??" Hidaka kept repeating in dumb bewilderment, slowly beginning to catch on but remaining too taken aback by the vision to start yelling right away. "What are you-- what are you doing in my room?"

A moment later, he was already opening his mouth, his vocal cords straining to form some sort of a cry or any other loud sound that would have gotten the security's attention. But he was one moment too late. Zabuza's kunai plummeted through the air like lightning, leaving no time for any action messages sent by Hidaka's brain to be delivered to the rest of his body. One second – and the unfortunate man was leaning away, gaping dumbly at the weapon's blunt end sticking out of his chest. In the doorway, Haku averted his eyes, grateful to the morning gloom that was so mercifully concealing the dying victim's facial contortions.

Zabuza waited for a couple of seconds before twisting the kunai out of the corpse's chest. Blood sprayed out of the wound like a fountain the moment his knife left the flesh, covering the surroundings in sticky, dark spatters. The assassin tried to wipe it off his face, smearing it even further all over his cheek. His shirt – well, that was another matter. Black had definitely been a good choice - them little marks never showed, on black. But it was all just details. The only thing that truly mattered now was the mission; or rather getting out alive and receiving the check.

Zabuza grinned, satisfied with a job well done.

"It's over," he whispered, turning to his apprentice. "We're lea--"

A shrill scream from the outside made them both turn towards the window. They had no way of knowing it, but mere seconds ago the very same servant boy that had wandered out into the courtyard in search of the food cart had just stumbled across six dead bodies (including that of a horse) and an unfamiliar girl with a bloody mouth.

"Shit!" was Zabuza's immediate reaction. "Damn that girl, where is she _looking_?"

The scream came again, much more assured and desperate this time. Somewhere in the depths of the mansion, low thuds made by people running in heavy uniforms could be heard. The household guardians were coming to the rescue.

The ninja wasted no time in making their escape. With the lithe agility that could only develop after years and years of dedicated training, they hopped out of the window, down to the ground, and in a couple of leaps they were back in the outer courtyard. They arrived just in time to witness Loki raise her deadly metal claws over a boy weeping in a huddle on the ground.

"Shut up!" the wolf-girl was hissing through greeted teeth. "Quit your squealing or I'll--"

Haku called out to her.

"Leave him be! Come on, we must hurry!"

From somewhere at the front of the mansion, shouts could be heard. The guards were swiftly approaching from all the directions, hoping to surround the enemy. But Zabuza's fog still hung, making it difficult for them to find the right path; and they kept stumbling into each other, cursing as they ran.

Loki retracted her claws and turned away, losing all interest in the screeching human brat. She had to go, too. She knew that the dogs would resume all activity the moment she was well outside the brick wall, but that was fine because her own humans would be out of reach as well. The mist was starting to disperse, Zabuza's Jutsu wearing away; and the mansion's residents were already beginning to make some progress, led by the safely-escaped little servant. The girl took a last sniff of the surroundings, to better record the memory of this triumphant moment for nostalgic days, and was herself soon lost in the shadowy depths of the sleepy morning streets ahead.

Far behind, the dogs erupted into a belated chorus of livid howls.

* * *

Two hours and several kilometres later, when the renegade trio finally stopped to catch their breath, Zabuza slumped onto a rock and motioned for Loki to come over. She approached him, panting and red from all the running, but beaming with the strength of a hundred suns. Time for praise, cackled her inner self happily.

Zabuza, too, was grinning. It was not a nice kind of grin. It was the kind of grin that people hid under beds from. He waited for the girl to get within reach; and then, in a swift motion that an untrained eye would've had a difficulty following, he threw out his hand and closed his fingers tightly around Loki's windpipe. It was the last thing she'd been expecting. Gasping in shock and struggling for breath, she clawed at his fingers; but Zabuza's grip was like a steel-trap. He drew the girl towards him until her eyes were level with his, and shook her up slightly.

"_Never_ do something like that again. You hear me? NEVER do this again!" he growled loud enough for Haku to wince. "If there is anything I will not tolerate from my servants, it is _disobedience! _I _told _you to keep your nose out of it, I specifically _ordered _you to stay put, didn't I? _Didn't_ _I_???"

He shook her again. Loki was trembling from head to toe, just like a dry autumn leaf in the wind (if it had any heads or toes). She was still desperately trying to uncurl the man's fingers from her throat, but to no attain.

"Didn't I???' roared Zabuza.

Her proud lupine heritage forgotten, Loki found herself nodding shakily.

"And when I _order _something, I expect it to be done, whether you like it or not!" Zabuza kept snarling. At that moment, he looked more like a wolf than any other human beings Loki had ever encountered. It was scary. "Is that understood? Well?!"

Loki was slowly beginning to turn blue.

Zabuza spat to the ground and let the unfortunate girl go, not ceasing to pierce her with his infamous death glare. Loki overbalanced and fell back onto her rear, breathing heavily and clutching at her throat. Haku stood where he was, wisely not trying to interfere. She could be _much _worse off, he thought.

Zabuza seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He got up, shaking the dust off his backside, and came to glower over his female trainee.

"I don't know what it was that you did tonight, but it certainly helped," he said, sounding a shade of a tone less rough. "Our assignment has been successfully accomplished, and that is probably the only thing holding me back from killing you right here, right now. You're lucky that it played out so well, girl."

Loki looked up hopefully. The man's glare intensified.

"I'm in a good mood right now, so I'm giving you a last chance. But if you ever, _ever _disobey me again, I'll…" he let the last few words hang in a viscous silence. Loki gulped. She had never seen a human look so _terrifying _before.

"I won't disobey you again, sir…" she muttered softly.

"What was that? Couldn't hear it," mocked Zabuza in a sing-song voice.

Realising what was being expected of her, Loki swiftly sprang up to her feet and saluted smartly.

"I won't disobey you again, sah!!!" the girl shouted much louder this time, breaking down into a coughing fit afterwards. But she actually meant what she said.

Zabuza smiled in satisfaction. He was good at getting his point across.

"Good, good," he muttered, adjusting the bandages on his face before turning his blistering gaze onto his younger apprentice.

"Haku?"

"Yes, sir…?"

"I do hope you're smart enough to figure out what will happen to _both of you _if you two try something like that behind my back ever again," the man uttered with all the cold-blooded calmness of a cobra.

"Yes, sir…"

"Do _not_ make me draw you a picture." Every word had been punctuated with ice.

"All right, sir."

"Well then." Now that they were all sorted out and clear about who the boss was, it was a perfect time to go get that money.

* * *

A couple of days later, the Village of Twin Rivers with all its excitement, agitation over the bodies and Hunter Nin rummaging the surrounding area for the bandits was finally left far behind the shaggy, evergreen branches of spruces and pines. Having received their gold, Zabuza and the group went back into hiding, once again retreating far into the very heart of Water Country's extensive forests. They had a lot of spare time on their hands now; and while most of it was used, obviously, for training, Zabuza did give his students short breaks for a little rest.

It was during times like this that Haku wandered off all by himself to think. Having to kill people always put the boy in such a thoughtful, even depressing mood afterwards; but this time, it was something else as well. Something very odd was going on, and it was bothering him; but Haku couldn't quite put a finger on it, whatever it was. Perhaps it had something to do with the way the dogs had been so quiet that night – by the way, how _did _Loki manage to do that? – or maybe it was simply the upcoming cyclone changes in the atmosphere. Haku couldn't really tell.

But sometimes, it just made him wonder.

**End Chapter! **Hope you liked it, and thanks for being such a patient and polite audience. X3 Sorry for any typos if you see any, but I have been reading this over so many times now that all the mistakes sort of blend in with the background when I look at the text.

Stick around for the next update (hope you make it till the 22nd century…) Lai out.


	15. Revelation

_**Author's Note:**_ Annnd I am back, ladies and gentlemen, after, what, like a year or so of no updates? I am really sorry about this, guys, I truly am. You have no idea for how long I've been wanting to finish this, but, well, the last year of high school turned out to be tougher than I expected. _Maaaaaan_… At least _that's_ over now. :)

On the bright side, I will now (hopefully) have more time to write this story. On the not so bright side, I'm afraid I am beginning to forget all of my (cross out: not very) carefully crafted plot…

In any case, if you forgot what happens in the story and do not feel like revisiting the previous chapter, here's the deal: Zabuza, Haku and Loki (a lost battle werewolf taken in by the two assassins), have to complete an 'assignment', a.k.a. kill a crazy rich old prick by the name of Nami Hidaka. Because Loki major-ly screws up her part, she is 'suspended' from the job, should we say; but she doesn't want to remain on the sidelines and wants to seem useful and her wolf-pride hurts and blah. So she tries to help in her own way, and even though this almost screws _everyone _over, they succeed in the end thanks to Zabuza and Haku's l33t superior assassinating skills. In the end, they get their cash and (this bit's **important**) Loki gets thrashed for disobedience, but Zabuza lets her stay because her help _did_ turn out to, in fact, help. Oh, and Haku was left in a very suspicious mood by Loki's behaviour.

This was the subject of the last two chapters for those of you who don't remember, and for the rest of you… onwards with the story! :)

_**15. Revelation**_

The room was filled with empty, velvety darkness. The only available light was concentrated around a dripping tallow candle situated in the middle of the wide, circular floor. It didn't exactly diffuse the shadows as such, or make the surroundings visible to the viewer, but was rather there to add a certain touch of style to the scenery. In a way, it made the blackness around it seem a little more… _emphatic_.

Beyond the dim glow of the candle, a part of the emphatic blackness stirred, becoming a shape. The newly-formed figure then strode assuredly towards the light source, stopping just far enough to keep its features obscured by the shadows but close enough to make its presence known to whoever was watching.

On the other side of the candle, there was a slight shift in silence. A mere second's pause took place as more of the emphatic blackness seemed to be coming to life, and then:

"Ah, so you've come, I see," said a voice pleasantly. It was the kind of voice usually associated with steepled, fidgeting fingers and words 'excellent, excellent'. According to the outline of the darkness, which would be black on… less concentrated black, it also seemed that the owner of the voice was currently reclining in a large, comfortable armchair (unless his head was of a really funny shape).

The standing silhouette said nothing. That, in itself, was a speech.

"I believe you have received my… little assignment?" asked the armchair a question that wasn't really a question.

"Yes."

"It is going to be about… him. You know. _Him._" A lot of unsaid but implied information was hovering around in the atmosphere. To those present in the room, however, it seemed to be self-explanatory.

"What, him? Really?"

"No, not him. _Him._"

"Oh. Him, huh."

"No! You've got it wrong again."

"_Him, _then?"

"That's right. _Him. _Quite difficult, but nothing you won't be able to handle, I'm sure. Now, you know the drill – track down, destroy, kind of thing. The usual procedure. There will be a bounty, as you are already aware… extras for a clean trail, of course. Just in case any… followers are scattered about. _Understand_?"

"Understood." The darkness shifted again, indicating a nod. "Is that… _it_?" it added uncertainly after a while.

"Now, now, there's no need to get all… _ambitious_." The armchair savoured the word like a lollypop. "You'll have your hands full for a while, I assure you."

"Time limit?"

"Take as long as you like. Just not _too_ long, mind you."

"I understand." The standing shape paused briefly. "Now, about that boun--"

"_Excellent_, excellent," interrupted the armchair in that raised, slightly mad pitch people use when they pretend they didn't hear any questions. "Do not let me detain you, now," it continued, its voice back down to acceptable levels of politeness, but this time tinged with just a hint of icy finality. This conversation was over. And, as a matter of fact, it never took place in the first place.

There was a brisk movement on the standing figure's side of the darkness; a sensation of someone's presence in a hurry to make itself _no longer there;_ and then, just a few gently-settling dust particles.

The dim candlelight flickered and went out, engulfed by the once-again empty velvety darkness.

* * *

Rain was surging down from the skies in roaring torrents of rather dirty and unpleasantly cold water, not even bothering to apologize to Zabuza for not making his day any better. It was hard enough trying to trudge (well, pace in exaggeratedly-large steps in Haku's case and stagger along awkwardly in Loki's) through the impassable river of mud that the forest path had become after a week's unceasing downpour without anymore liquid nastiness trying to make walking mince out of him and his apprentices. Oh sure, people would say, they could have just waited it out in the forest, safe under the cover of trees, you know, on a high cliff somewhere, until jolly rays of sunlight came out to play and drove the storm clouds away, or something. The only thing that can be said for people like that in return is that they have obviously never been in a real forest during a thunderstorm before.

In other words, Zabuza was _not _a happy man. Lack of sleep and seeing large, slithering snakes first thing in the morning (after most of the nightly gloom and fog have dispersed) can do that to you. And yes, there _had _beena snake. Zabuza was sure about that. It had definitely been a snake. Very long and unusually green, and it didn't hiss or rattle or make any other warning noises as it progressed at all, but it _did _slither by the man through the mucky dirt and fallen, rotting leaves. It was very odd, because Zabuza was vaguely aware that since snakes were reptiles, and all reptiles went into hibernation when summer came to an end, it should have already been asleep in some dark hole underground somewhere. And yet there it was, as spry and alert as, well, a spry and alert snake. It wasn't right. Zabuza didn't like it one bit. Hunter Nin had about a thousand spying Jutsu, he remembered, and the thought was making him very uneasy.

And that, as a matter of fact, was exactly why the infamous Demon of the Mist and company were now trudging, staggering awkwardly and pacing in overly-large steps as fast as they could through rain, cold and mud towards whatever destination Momochi had on his schedule next.

* * *

Somewhere else, in the unfathomable depths of the universe's most ancient forest, blue and white sparks of electricity danced among the hidden, narrow trails blanketed with dry foliage and intertwining vines. Century-old pines creaked softly as time trickled by and timber-worms made intricate zigzags under their rough bark. Shadows slipped quietly through the brushwood, wild green eyes flickering playfully among the spidery branches (and that wasn't the kind of "playfully" that would run around after a piece of paper on a string. It was rather the type that implied, in an unobtrusive sort of way, that your fingers would be played with joyfully after they were detached from you complete with your arm).

And high up under the thick canopy of leaves, needles and poisonous thorns, a voice was singing. It warbled melodiously something soft and melancholic, like a rainfall on a quiet autumn afternoon, or a breeze sweeping forlornly through the dead rooms of an old, abandoned mansion. Or like the weeping of a little child who has lost something very precious to him (or simply dropped a lollypop). There were words, too; but they sounded indistinct and incomprehensible, as if they were sort of… _worn away_, in the way that ancient symbols and drawings done in charcoal in a primordial cave somewhere wear away slowly with time. It was as if the context of the song had been long lost, and only the sound, the _shape _of the words themselves remained. Everywhere, songs were born; and songs were sometimes forgotten, too. You could say that in a way, like living creatures, they died. But it was all the same to the universe at large; just like living creatures, new ones were soon created in their place, and the world moved on.

But sometimes, somewhere_, ghosts_ of songs remained, sung by spectres.

Down below, the ground shook as something large and hefty lumbered through the thickets. There came the approaching crunch of dry branches and unfortunate little critters being crushed underfoot; under a really heavy, _enormous _foot. And after a while, a booming voice cursed not so far off.

"Crap! _Why _do they _always_ have to dry out so quickly? Looking for a new one is such a damn pain in the trunk."

"I could be wrong, of course, but perhaps there would be slightly more water left in that last one if you didn't, how should I put it, jump into it from a running start, pops," pointed out a much smaller, croakier voice that would put one in mind of a toad. Given, of course, that toads could speak.

"Oh, shut up," cut off the booming voice good-naturedly, rather out of habit than actual irritation. "What else are ponds _for_?"

"Erm, living in?"

The thudding footsteps finally reached the overgrown glade where the melodious voice was still pouring out in mournful trills. There came a sound like steam being expelled out of a briskly-open sauna door. That was the booming voice sighing.

"…_And stop your damn screeching!_" it screamed at last. Lack of ponds deep enough to cannon-ball dive into seemed to rend the owner of the booming voice entirely insensitive towards the other forest-dwellers' anguish. "Netherhells, even _I _could sing better than _that! __LAAAAAAAAAAAAA LA-LA-LA-LA LA-AAAA-AAAA-A-A-A!!"_ roared Booming in the deepest, most deafening bass he could manage, ending on an embarrassingly croaky-sounding note.

The heart-rending song broke off resentfully. High above, two angry eyes flashed in the darkness; and then the whole glade quavered as an ear-splitting screech rang through the still air. A winged silhouette detached from the blackness, soaring upwards in a lazy spiral. Vaguely outlined in the feeble light puncturing the thick canopy overhead, it was nevertheless distinguishable to the eye of the onlooker, or onlookers, situated far below. It was a large bird, about the size and shape of an eagle. That was, if you didn't take its head into consideration.

The creature had a human head. Or, more precisely, the head of a dishevelled, savage-looking woman.

"Well, gee," commented the owner of the booming voice, otherwise known as Gamabunta, after the screeching had died away in the distance. "So much for music appreciation. It's not even like it was _that _bad. I was only clearing my vocal cords, anyway. What, can't you clear your _vocal cords _around here anymore, Gamakichi?"

"_I _did not need to have _my _vocal cords cleared," croaked Gamakichi, who, in fact, did. "Not in the middle of somebody's song. Anyway, it _was _kind of mean," he added reproachfully.

"What? What? Are you saying that _I _can't sing, is that what you're saying, now, is it? Huh?"

"That wasn't what I said at all, dad. Anyway, the new pond is _that _way, right? Dad?"

"Oh… Well, of _course_ it's that way. What else did you think? _I_ know that. You don't have to remind me. I, I, I have my own way with them trails. Yes." The thundering footsteps stopped, filling the small ecosystem with a brief pause as Gamabunta changed directions; and then resumed again, heading through the brushwood deeper into the heart of the forest.

"And my singing is _not that bad!_" came a departing boom from some way further off.

* * *

Back in the world populated by ninja, the sun came out to shine over three soaking, lumbering figures. Zabuza, Haku and Loki were just finishing a lengthy climb onto the top of a particularly large and muddy hill. Far below at this hill's very foot, concealed by the trees, a small and unremarkable village thrived.

"It rains all the while that we're travelling, and then it _stops_ just as we bloody arrive. Typical," grumbled Zabuza through gritted teeth, all a picture of sodden, irritated misery.

"Which way now, sir?" asked Haku, hoping against all hope that his cheerful tone would lift the spirits. "Do we go down into that village you mentioned?"

"Oh no, no more crowded inns and bloody starin' buggers for us, no," Zabuza answered in his usual manner, and then changed direction abruptly, turning off the trail. "But there _is_ a special little place around here that I like to call my own…"

He disappeared behind the tree trunks. His apprentices followed him, mystified.

Zabuza Momochi did indeed own a modest plot of land in the vast forests of the Water Country that, curiously enough, none of the real estate agents of the ninja world would ever remember him acquiring. Most likely it was because these forests did not, in fact, belong to anyone in particular; but even if they did, Zabuza's Cleaver would nicely see to it that those people were in no condition to object.

The trio clawed their way through the undergrowth and thorny scrub, occasionally getting smacked in the faces by erratic branches or having showers of rainwater, dislodged by an awkward movement from the aforesaid branches, drench them from above. It was not a pleasant experience; but when they finally kunai-ed themselves out of the bushes and onto a small patch of almost clear space, the smug grin that spread across Zabuza's face showed them that it all must have been worth it.

The man planted his hands onto his hips in a self-satisfied fashion, giving the surroundings a haughty look.

"Ah, this is the place," he announced, gesturing at the forest at large. "Welcome home, kiddies."

Haku and Loki examined the trees in front of them carefully, in case they were failing to spot something unobtrusive and yet very obvious, like, say, a house. But there was nothing even remotely liveable there as far as they could make out.

Zabuza noticed the goggle-eyed stares of the kind that usually indicate that their owners are desperately trying to see something that isn't there, like meaning in an abstract painting. He sighed and slapped his forehead with a kunai-free palm. These kids had yet a lot to learn about seeing through an illusion Jutsu.

The assassin made a complicated-looking sequence of hand-signs that a simple rookie wouldn't be able to follow, and watched a long chain with a knob on the end drop down seemingly out of nowhere. It hung in mid-air just a few feet above the ground, twisting ponderously this way and that. The chain was made out of iron and had once been painted gold to resemble something of more value than it actually was; but cheap dye shed away in places, revealing embarrassing patches of dark, rusty grey. A few more flakes of fake gold peeled off as Zabuza grabbed the knob and pulled down on it really hard. There was a deep metal _'clang', _some creaking of old wood and a couple of gently-floating-down dry leaves. But nothing else happened.

Haku and Loki watched nothing happening expectantly for a while before Loki finally asked,

"So, what are we supposed t--"

The whooshing sensation of something large but at the same time invisible moving really quickly made all of them dive for cover instinctively. There came a _'swap swap swap' _kind of noise, a couple more bangs and the 'twang' of really thick ropes stretching something extremely heavy into place. Out of the corner of her eye that wasn't hidden behind a defensive elbow, Loki could just make out the… the _thing_ unfold. It was like watching somebody setting up a make-shift tent in fast motion; or rather more like observing an origami boat being pulled into the right shape by its corners. She had never seen anything like it in her entire life. But then again, she hadn't seen very much in her entire life at all.

In a few moments, the Momochi estate appeared before them in all of its worn down, corroded-by-time-and-beetles-but-still-holding-on glory.

The two younger ninja gawped at it, stupefied. It was definitely… a sight. There couldn't have been a better word.

"Whoa…" drawled Loki, eyes wide with amazement. "How did you do_ that_?"

"A special little something I like to call The Secret Cabin Concealing Jutsu," said Zabuza the aspiring inventor proudly. "Completely fire-, water-, hurricane-, wild animal- and stranger-proof. Came up with it all by meself. Don't know for how long it will hold though, but's been working without fail for a couple of years this far, if I dare say so myself." The man folded his arms and grinned in a satisfied manner. He would have never admitted it himself; but he did, indeed, rather like to brag.

"But, but, but I thought you only used Jutsu for fighting," muttered Loki in bewilderment at this discovery of yet another strange way of the humans, while Haku took a few tentative steps forward and prodded the long, bridge-like wooden porch cautiously with the tip of a sandal.

"You can use Jutsu for _anything_," Zabuza answered in a sage, seen-it-all sort of voice one uses with novices. "Just as long as you know _how_."

Loki cringed a bit at that because she _didn't _know how, which had always mildly irritated her. But it stood to reason. Jutsu could indeed be used for anything, even for things like getting rid of pimples or conjuring harems of naked young women that caused the unsuspecting male opponent to make a ten-foot arching somersault in the air, nose-bleeding all the way.

Zabuza gave the girl a little push towards his insignificant property.

"Move it along now, we've got lots of unpackin' to do."

Haku was already at the doorway, examining the thick roping with interest. Haku was like that. He liked figuring out how things worked, and what made them go. Many unfortunate frogs would second that, if they could. (Oh no, Haku wasn't a _sadist_. He always froze his test subjects first before experimenting on them. On the whole, he would have probablymade a great surgeon if he pursued a medical career, and, possibly, if somebody other than Zabuza had come along the street that snowy night. This has little to do with the story, but it is relieving to know, all the same.)

What Zabuza owned could hardly be called a house, or even a cottage. It rather resembled a large but somewhat shabby old shed divided in half by a flimsy cardboard wall. One of the divisions was furnished (although "furnished" is probably too fancy a word to use for the setting in question) with a rectangular wooden table, an uncomfortable-looking couch in a corner, and something that appeared to be a sink. Soft afternoon sunshine cast yellowish squares of light onto the surroundings and illuminated pillars of gently-settling dust through a large window. The window was glazed, although you could hardly see anything through it for all the cobwebs and grime.

The other part of the dwelling was curtained off, but through the tears in the thin cloth one could catch glimpses of suspicious-looking boxes stacked one on top of another. There was a small window in there, too; although its purpose there remained unclear.

Zabuza tossed his knapsack onto the couch, which creaked.

"You kiddies unpack," he grunted and headed outside, to cast the Invisibility Jutsu – something like the Hiding Mist technique, but with several minor adjustments.

"Um, Zabuza-san? I… have a quick question," ventured Haku, who had just finished scrutinizing the little room apprehensively through narrowed eyes. He, like Loki, had never seen Jutsu being used in this manner before.

"Hm?"

"How did they stay on, you know, in the right spots and all? All of them boxes, and the couch and things? And the glass, there's not even a crack…"

"I really thought you'd figure it out by now, Haku."

"Yes, I do realize that it is some kind of a Jutsu, but _how_…"

"Let's just say that when you're on the run and are in need of a reliable and unnoticeable place to hide your money or… replenish your provisions _very quickly_, sort of thing, you learn a trick or two as you go along."

"Oh. I see."

"Indeed."

Loki watched her mentor step outside onto the shadowed porch in a kind of unbelieving awe. She could hardly get her own chakra to do more than dancing golden sparks in the air (and even thoseonly ever happened by accident), and these _humans _did all those neat _things _with it… Concealing unfolding houses and stuff… You had to admit that it was, to use Zabuza's own words, bloody _amaz--_

The girl's thought process was interrupted by Haku tapping her gently on the shoulder. Up until this moment he had been fussing over their knapsacks somewhere in the background; but then the image of Loki standing around uselessly caught his eye, and he rushed to fill in the gap.

"Come on, Loki, I need your help," he said, handing her a pile of stuff and leading her gently away by the elbow.

Outside, Zabuza was just finishing his last This-Is-Definitely-Not-A-House-in-the-Middle-of-the-Woods,-Go-Away Jutsu seal. The name needed some revising, he mused. It didn't exactly, as they said, roll off the tongue.

* * *

The sun rolled slowly towards the west, and a bird whooped forlornly in the distance. Inside the little hidden cottage Haku was preparing dinner, with Loki helping out with the dishes and Zabuza resting face-up on the hard couch. Things were already unpacked and the windows gleamed, now grimeless and cobweb-free.

"Loki, could you pass me some _shiso, _please? That's those green, roundish leaves to your left."

Haku was currently chopping up some unfamiliar to Loki vegetation on a cutting board with a kunai. Over a small, rock-surrounded earthy hole in the floor that passed for a stove, rice was steaming in an iron pot.

Loki flailed around desperately until she finally caught sight of the green, roundish leaves, and dashed to give them to the boy.

"Anything else?" she asked, out of breath. For the past couple of hours she had been running around like crazy, completing all of Haku's little errands and tasks. She had never before had to clean up or cook. In the Centre, there had always been a large tray of meat waiting for her each time she returned from her training, and her cell was generally spotless. But the girl had never wondered where the food came from, or where the dirt went. She never even _thought _about that kind of stuff before. It was just one of those things that you took for granted and that never bothered you until you ended up having to do them yourself. And Loki, someone raised exclusively for fighting and a very simple life in general, was not enjoying herself in this new business.

"Yes, please wash that bowl, if you would be so kind."

Loki realized that Haku didn't mean to be so… _polite_, but hearing him say that in such a casual, you-know-you'd-do-it-anyway kind of voice was beginning to grate on her inner wolf's patience. Humanity always did, in the end. The girl often wondered why she was still staying with these humans, following their orders. She was a free wolf now. She didn't _have _to return to any human dwellings anymore. Life in the wild sure seemed worth a try. One day, she was constantly telling herself, she would run off and find a pack of those like her. One day.

That was what she'd wanted all along.

And yet…

The prospect of having to cook meals all by yourself and sleeping out in the cold all the time did not seem all that appealing after you gave it some thought.

"Erm, Haku? Um, _how_ do you do this again, exactly? Um…"

Loki was standing in front of the sink awkwardly, turning the bowl over uncertainly in her hands.

Haku sighed and put aside his kunai. Sometimes he wondered, in a mildly irritated kind of way, if Loki knew how to do _anything _at all other than fighting. She probably never got a chance to do it wherever she was from, he understood; but good grief, she was a _girl_! Girls were supposed to be goodat those kinds of things naturally (or better than boys, at least). And here she was, not being able to even rinse one small bowl on her _third try_…

One day, he thought, he was going to take his time and teach Loki, and he meant _really, seriously _teach Loki (perhaps with many Ice Needles and death glares involved) some simple, basic housekeeping skills.

"Here, you do it like _this."_

The bowl was taken from Loki's unresisting fingers and a little rope above the sink was pulled. When Zabuza had been building this shack, he was still too inexperienced to try and include something as complicated as plumbing; so large water reservoirs were now used instead. A trickle of slightly misty water dribbled down with a rhythmic beating sound as the dish was rotated gently under it, leaving thin tracks of clean white in the grease. Loki carefully watched Haku wipe off the oily spots with a piece of cloth, and then rub it with a finger to check for the squeak. When he made absolutely sure that the bowl was clean, he held it up for Loki to examine.

"There you go. Easy and simple."

Three more dirty dishes got handed over to the girl, who barely suppressed a groan.

But finally the dinner was ready and served, and the trio assembled around the table, using small boxes to sit on. They ate in silence for a while, both males trying hard to ignore Loki not knowing how to use chopsticks, until at last Zabuza spoke.

"I'm going out into the village tonight."

"I thought you wanted to avoid the overcrowded inns and bloody staring buggers, sir. Just repeating what you'd said earlier, sir," wondered Haku out loud, getting glared at.

"Didn't leave a lot of food supplies here," Zabuza explained after a brief moment of glowering. "Didn't know if they'd keep well; and besides, when I built this, I never figured that I'd have to bring you lot in here to feed. I didn't intend this here place to be a long-time lodge, see, just a sort of a quick base thing. Restock and leave. Come; spend one night, maybe, restock and then leave again. But we're short on everything now, and I need to find meself another _job_ to do. Money, now, there's never enough of it for _our _purposes. Loki, use your bloody _hands _if you need to so much, but _leave those goddamn sticks alone, for gods' sakes, we do not have to witness this. _"

Loki put down her chopsticks, embarrassed, and moved them carefully aside with a finger. Haku added yet another point to his mental checklist of things yet to teach to the girl.

"All right, sir, you go look for that… those supplies… and we'll take care of the laundry in the meantime," he supplied, mainly to lead the conversation away from the uncomfortable topic of Loki's non-existent table manners. The rest of the dinner was consumed in a contemplative and rather awkward silence.

When he was done with his rice, Zabuza chucked the empty bowl into the sink and rummaged in his knapsack for a while before finally extracting a couple of mysterious sharp-edged devices out of its worn, leathery depths. They disappeared inside his clothing with a speed that would have made light jealous, and then the assassin straightened up. He gave Haku and Loki, who were watching him curiously, a long, stern look.

"You know the procedure," he said. "Same as always. Watch out for strangers. Don't play silly bugger with Fire Jutsu. And wait for me _here, _which means wait for me _here_, and not out in the forest or down in the village somewhere. I believe I don't have to repeat twice what will happen to you if I catch you out _misbehaving_." That last bit was aimed at Loki with amazing precision. She gulped as it hit the bull's-eye. Zabuza smirked in satisfaction.

And was gone. Just like that. There was a sudden, Zabuza-shaped whirlwind of dust, water vapour and, well, wind, and a prickling sensation of the man's chakra suddenly not being there.

"But we don't even _know _how to use Fire Jut--" was all Haku had time to say.

* * *

It _was _an incredibly sunny afternoon. It must have been, because so far already two new scenes in this chapter have started with the sun shining down onto some place or another. And after _that _they went around saying that the Water Country was a gloomy place. They had no right whatsoever to say that. The Water Country might have been poor, war-like, bloodthirsty and corrupt, but it was in no way gloomy. The sun came out to shine quite often.

At the present moment, the sun came out to shine down onto (except for a corpse-littered battlefield, a tavern-brawl elsewhere and one of Gato's enormous barges swimming down a river somewhere _else_) anyway, it _also_ shone down onto a small forest glade, overgrown with withering thickets and surrounded by towering trees. A stream trickled away far below, glinting playfully in the fading, late-afternoon light. Birds were twittering again, but rather hurriedly, as though trying to fit a lengthy repertoire of songs into the not-very-lengthy period between rain and some more rain. And _there_, on the moss-covered rock just beside the spring, a girl was sitting with her hand cautiously outstretched, palm-up, towards something in front of her. And on the receiving side of her hand, a small grey squirrel was reaching back with its nose to sniff hopefully at the girl's fingertips. It was such a serene and peaceful moment that you couldn't help yourself but be reminded of one of those touching scenes that usually end in a musical and little cuddly animals breaking into a cute song and dance. The effect was reinforced by an incidental ray of sunshine falling right onto the squirrel's muzzle as it connected gently with the girl's soft, unfolded hand…

…Which suddenly sprouted deadly claws and enclosed around the furry victim before it even had a chance to squeak. Somewhere high above, the twittering broke off and a couple of birds took off into the skies in a flurry of wings and falling dry leaves.

"Yesssss," hissed Loki under her breath, a manic grin spreading across her face. "Fresh meat at last… Now _that _is what I call dinner!"

Loki might have been living with humans for most of her entire conscious life, but that never, ever stopped her from being a savage wolf at heart. It is what being a werewolf is all about. It is thus very important for people to remember that and try not to judge Loki's actions from a… human point of view.

On this _particular_ afternoon, just like on a few others before it, animal instincts were especially hard to deny.

The girl straightened up carefully and staggered despite her best efforts. That, too, was a side effect. Loki winced. She'd been trying to keep up the cheery face and high-spirited performance the whole time that Haku and Zabuza were watching, but now the weakness was taking its toll. Just like always. Loki took a few shaking steps and sat back down onto the rock.

And all those grey little creatures scuttling around didn't help matters at all…

Loki opened her jaws. They were set with pointy little fangs.

"Loooo-kiiiii!" called a voice from somewhere behind her, and slightly to her right. Haku was out looking for her. _Damn._

"Lo-ki!" The voice was coming closer. She could already hear the rustling of thickets being moved aside and, for some reason, a strong smell of old trousers, fast-approaching. Loki let go of the squirrel and watched it dash away rather regretfully.

"Loki! There you are! Been looking all over for you," panted Haku, appearing into view. He watched her pulling her hand out of the stream hurriedly before she turned to face him and sending splatters of water over her head in a neat arch; and then, for a second… For just a split second, Haku _thought_ he'd caught a glimpse of small, pointy fangs… although surely that was just a trick of light.

"What are you doing?" he ventured.

"Oh… um… nothing?" Loki tried.

Haku rolled his eyes. They had no time for games.

"Come on. I need your help," he said wearily, and made his way back through the bushes. Loki followed him shortly.

"Some more floor-sweeping?"

"Oh, no. We're done with that. Now we have some laundry to do."

"Laundry?"

Loki noticed, only just now, the bundle that Haku had been carrying with him all along. It was a pile of clothes. Really dirty and smelly clothes.

"What are those?"

"Our clothes, of course. And _this _is yours, by the way."

They came out into a clearer patch of the forest, with more open space for the last-moment sunlight to shine onto. It was easier to do laundry in sunny, open spaces; and jollier, too. Haku dumped the bundle onto the ground beside them and crouched down over the stream. Loki imitated him.

"Do you know how to wash clothes, Loki? …No, I expect not. Here, let me show you how."

The boy handed her a kimono, and himself unfolded a pair of Zabuza's pants. Loki watched, transfixed, as he dipped them into cold water and waved them gently in it a few times. Haku's expectantly raised eyebrows urged her to do the same.

"You shake it gently to kind of straighten it out first, and then you grab it like _that_, and you rub it together… like _this_… no, not like that, like _this_…"

Loki waggled the kimono in the water uncertainly, watching Haku's movements closely all the way. Then she took it into a firm grip… with _both _hands, not just one… and _rub it like this, see, especially under arms, so that the sweat washes away… and here's some soap…_

It was an… interesting procedure, Loki thought as she waggled and rubbed the flimsy cloth some more in a desperate and rather pointless attempt to get rid of all the stains. She'd learned so much today. All those useless little things, like cleaning and dusting and laundry and passing the right greenery to Haku to chop up on his little cutting board. Humans always made her do such strange things. In a way it was… amusing. It even made her forget about tonight. Sort of, anyway.

For no reason whatsoever, Loki wanted to laugh. She felt the stupid grin stretching across her face, from ear to ear. That was all she could do to stop herself from giggling like a silly human.

Haku caught her expression.

"Oh, come on. They're just _underpants_," he said, squeezing the water out of a small, blue-and-white striped item of clothing and rolling his eyes with a faint smile. "Underpants need washing too, you know. These are Zabuza's, by the way."

"Zabuza's?" The word 'underpants' had little meaning in Loki's private universe, whether subtle, humorous or otherwise; but the way itself in which it was said suggested, even to Loki's untrained in this area ears, that something extremely intimate and at the same time comical was being discussed. She stared, blinked and then burst out laughing. It didn't make sense. But she'd laugh at anything now, even if it didn't make any sense at all.

Haku watched her laughing and splashing water around aimlessly with a raised eyebrow; and then, as though urged on to do so by some invisible force, found himself laughing as well, at nothing in particular. It's true what they said. Silly, pointless laughter was contagious.

They went back to the hut an hour later, smiling and carrying the large heap of moderately-clean clothing together. Well, Haku had the bulk of it, but Loki was helping. Doing the laundry turned out not to be so tedious, after all.

"Just you wait 'till I show you the _ironing_," Haku was saying with a slightly maniacal tone in his excited voice.

* * *

The door of the coffee-shop was thrust open and Zabuza entered the gloom. Well, 'coffee-shop' was more of a name than an actual description. There was probably a lot less coffee being served around here than, say, alcohol, or pretty much anything else having to do with drinking, for that matter. And most customers didn't really come here to have drinks, in any case.

In short, this was not a very reputable place. Especially at night.

Zabuza made his way slowly towards the counter through rows and rows of dimly-lit tables. All around, some heavy drinking and, in places, hushed, secretive conversations were going on. And in a corner behind him, further in the gloom… The assassin narrowed his eyes but went on without stopping. He was being watched…

At the counter, Zabuza tossed two coins onto the grimy tabletop and asked for a mug of beer. From behind the veil of smoke, a thick red face glared back at him with one maliciously glinting eye and a hand the size of a shovel scooped up the gold.

" 'Moment, sir."

Zabuza nodded and stood there, waiting. With each moment, he was becoming more and more aware of his watcher, and that made him tense. And Momochi _hated _feeling tense.

Finally, the beer arrived. Zabuza took the mug and, almost gratefully, retreated into the darkness.

Carefully feeling with just the tips of his fingers the polished surface of a kunai hidden expertly within his sleeve, the Mist-village renegade made his way back among the tables, heading for a shadowy corner. Keep calm… You just had to remember to always keep calm. Just a few more steps…

But just as he was passing by one of the countless figures stooping over a bottle of something clearly alcoholic, Momochi felt a gnarled but powerful hand grab the rim of his coat.

"Hello, old _friend_," somebody hissed as Zabuza whirled around, kunai at the ready, prepared to strike down the unknown enemy. "Long time no see."

There was something about the voice that made the assassin stop and, after a few seconds of careful consideration, cautiously sheathe the blade. Something about the stranger's accent seemed oddly familiar. Momochi's memory flashed a card. Ah, _yes_.

_Almost_ relaxing, Zabuza placed his mug of beer onto the tabletop.

"Same as always, you are. Haven't changed one bit," he commented, eyeing his hooded acquaintance. "I'd recognize that mania for black cloaks, conspiracy and alcohol anywhere… So, how've you been?" the bandage-faced assassin pulled up a chair. After a pause, he added a tone lower: "Anything… _interesting_ happen while I've been away?"

"Oh, not much, not much," wheezed the hood. "A few jobs here, a few trades there… you know how it is…" Here the speaker stopped to ingest a few more gulps of the foul-smelling concoction that was probably supposed to pass for sake or something of the sort. "For a moment there I thought you _wouldn't_ recognize me, old friend," he murmured accusingly.

Zabuza raised his hands protectively into the air. "Oh, ahaha, well, that's how things are these days… Got to be careful what with all the… unrest… and all."

"Still on the run from the Hunter hounds, hmm?"

"Yes… As you know, things didn't go quite as smoothly as expected." There was a sad pause filled with more beer consumption. "And what about this place? Anything profitable turn up recently?"

"Well, it's a stale little place, I should say," croaked the hood. "Few new people… Everyone knowing everything about everyone else… Not much fun."

Zabuza stared at his grimy mug expectantly. He needed a job. And if this old scumbag was still hanging around here, it meant that there were at least a few to spare.

As if in answer to his thoughts, the hood across the bottle-littered tabletop gave a little cough.

"Although…" he said. "If you're interested…"

Zabuza became all ears and bandages.

"There's quite an interesting little deal in a neighbouring village tonight… not too far off… I and a few more boys are already in it, but one more party wouldn't hurt. The share's one fifth of the total sum, and I know you, you're an honest lad and I can always count on you to do a proper job. So, how about it?"

That was exactly what Momochi had been looking for, but nevertheless he held out a moment of thoughtful, considering silence.

"One fourth and we've got a deal. I don't see any point to join for anything less."

"One _fourth_? Oh, well, you know how the boys are… They never…" The voice trailed off. Zabuza waited. His pause, of course, had been well-calculated. Since the old man was asking, his group was probably _really _in a need of at least one other ninja in order to accomplish the task properly. And Zabuza knew _exactly_ how to haggle with people like that.

"Oh, all right," the hood agreed at long last. He _was _in a pressing need of another ninja, after all; and, besides, the boys didn't have to know _everything_. "One fourth it is. You foul scoundrel."

"I'm in, then. You old scumbag," Zabuza parried with a grin.

"That's me," the black hood emitted a wheezing, hectic cackle. It was going to be one _profitable_ night, for all of them.

* * *

Back in the little folding hut in the middle of the forest, Haku and Loki were already asleep. It had been a long day and Zabuza was still out in the village, and who knew how long it was till he'd get back. Besides, it was dark out already, and it was not such a good idea to keep the lights on. There were plenty of excuses and, in any case, Haku was tired. And that was always a good enough reason to go to bed early.

Though while Haku was peacefully snoozing away, Loki, on the other hand, couldn't as much as close her eyes. Well, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep was the most she could do, in any case. Her head felt as if someone had placed it on a white-hot iron stove and was slowly battering away on it with a hammer. Her senses were going haywire, and that didn't make the experience any more pleasant. It was the night of the full moon, and Loki knew that she had to get out of the hut as soon as possible.

_Just a few more seconds_, she thought, feeling too weak to raise as much as one inch of herself off the floor, but freshly-sprouting claws hurried her on. Careful not to make any noise, the werewolf tried to get up…

There was a soft rustle from Haku's corner of the room. Loki stopped in her tracks and sniffed. A mouse. Just a tiny mouse. Fortunately, nothing more… Taking care not to wake her comrade, the girl opened the door and, with all the necessary precautions, clambered out into fresh air. Here she was finally safe. Loki softly clicked the cottage door shut behind her and rushed to merge with the silently shifting shadows of the nightly forest.

Back in the musty darkness of the hut, Haku opened his eyes.

* * *

Through the thickets and undergrowth, Loki sped on. This was becoming somewhat of a routine now, she noted, brushing a thorny branch aside. Just your usual little jogging exercise three nights a month. It's true what they said: one could get used to _anything _if the circumstances obliged. She ducked to avoid another branch and jumped over a fallen log. It was becoming easier to move and breathe. That only meant one thing. The full moon was almost out.

Loki ran on for a bit longer, following a path of her own choosing. She could feel her mind emptying quickly only to fill up with wild, erratic hints at thoughts. That was the animal waking up inside her. Her senses were also waking now, sharpening up; and something was trying to get her attention at the back of her mind. It was something alarmingly familiar, but Loki didn't have time to stop and think about what it was. There was only one thing she knew she should concentrate on remembering to do, and that was running away as far and fast as she possibly could. And nothing else currently mattered.

* * *

Back in the hut, Haku was groping around madly in the darkness in a desperate attempt to find his sandals. This wasn't going to end well, he just _knew _it. Zabuza _told_ them, he'd made it specifically clear that they were to stay in the hut _no matter what_. But Loki just left, he'd heard her, he was _certain_ he felt her go out the door! And it wasn't just for one moment to relieve herself, Haku was sure. She'd _gone. _Haku could tell she wasn't around. But how could she disobey their master's orders again so audaciously, especially after everything that had happened before as a result of that? Unless, of course, she had to…

Haku suddenly remembered Loki's strange absence that he'd noticed last month, as well as her unexplained onset of weakness the day before that happened. Could it possibly be…? Haku paused with his foot half-way in the sandal. Well, first he was going to go out there and bring Loki back, in any case. And then he would find out the whole truth.

Outside the hut, Haku stopped once more. If Zabuza came back and found that his trainees weren't there, he would be livid. Something had to be done about that. The boy waved his arm vaguely in the air and watched the water from a nearby stream trickle and shape itself into the right form. That wasn't much, but it would have to do. And with that, Haku was off into the night.

* * *

A few miles away, a group of five ninja was heading through the forest, leaping silently from branch to branch. Quite soon they reached the outskirts of a village, where they jumped down and took off their black cloaks and masks. Underneath, each one of them was wearing simple villager clothes.

It was night-time and the streets were mostly deserted, except for a single shabby, rattling cart and a few pedestrians hurrying to get to the warmth of their homes. Nobody paid any attention to the curious new addition to the village's population, although it would be interesting to note that it consisted of a group of five men; or rather four men and an unidentified limping figure that looked more like a wizened old monkey. However, while in any other circumstances this group might have caused considerable suspicion, on a cold night such as this no-one was intrigued enough to stick around and ask for their papers.

And that was certainly a mistake that somebody would, quite soon, dearly regret.

* * *

Haku sped through the trees. He was able to sense a faint trail of the girl's chakra leading away into the forest, and he followed it. It felt all… weird. Normally, he wouldn't be able to sense it, being this far away from the girl, but it was almost as if her chakra was growing out of proportion, becoming something… different… and monstrous. It felt wrong. Haku was beginning to have second thoughts about going through with this; but he reminded himself that he was Zabuza's apprentice, after all, and he had to carry out his orders; but most of all, he had to be brave. Anyway, a treacherous thought was creeping into his mind, what if Loki actually _was _sent to spy on them and secretly inform the Hunters of their whereabouts? After all, with the renegade duo separated, this would be the perfect time to strike… But that would mean that he'd have to track Loki down and… Haku didn't even want to go there.

Suddenly, the boy's right hand gave a slight, involuntary jerk. A chakra string stretching away from his hand into the darkness ahead sparked dimly, like a cobweb that had caught sunlight, and blended with the shadows once more. Haku's vision was momentarily filled with the image of a scrawny female figure crouching among the bushes somewhere ahead; and then it cleared again, revealing a fast-approaching branch. The boy ducked to avoid it and, frowning, changed directions. That had been a sign from one of his doppelgangers, he knew. He had sent two of them ahead to cover a greater area, and also to keep an eye out for Loki without revealing his presence to her highly-sensitive nose. The clones were attached to him by chakra strings, so that Haku would know right away where the girl was, whenever she would be spotted. And now he knew _exactly_ where to find her.

The boy destroyed his second clone, tuning in to the one that had tracked down Loki. She had stopped some way off, so Haku stopped as well, not wanting to come any closer in case any dangerous activity would be taking place. If she was going to communicate with the Hunter Nin, well…

But something was telling Haku that this was not going to be the case. Strangely, this thought wasn't making him feel any better.

His doppelganger must have been hiding among the treetops around wherever Loki was, because Haku was getting a clear view from some point high above the ground. He could plainly see the girl straighten up and sniff around suspiciously. Instinctively, he recoiled. Even though there was no possible way that Loki could smell him from where she was, you just never knew. But then her attention shifted, and Haku tuned in a bit more to get a closer look. What he saw made him frown even more.

Something strange was going on with his team-mate. Her ears seemed longer, and her hair was somehow bushier… and _those _were quite obviously claws… But not the metal kind that she loved to show off so much, but rather the sort that one would find on a wolf's paw… It was almost as if…

Here, Haku blushed and had to suppress the urge to look politely the other way. Loki was taking off her clothes… why? He kept watching, though, afraid that if he turned away even for one second, his quarry would vanish. He watched the girl toss her kimono into the bushes and straighten out again, completely naked. And on her back he could see, or was it just his imagination…? Greyish tufts of fur were sprouting here and there from under her bare skin. An answer seemed to hover in the boy's mind, too vague and frightening to be grasped, but he wouldn't turn and run away, he _had _to know the truth… whatever it was.

And then it happened. The full moon came out in all of its icy glory, its light illuminating the trees, and the girl, and an anxiously watching Haku somewhere else among the thickets.

And then the chilly air shook as a shrill, inhuman shriek pierced the velvety darkness.

Haku's eyes widened in horror as he watched the transmogrifying figure, his stomach lurching with repulsion. But he just couldn't look away, transfixed by the terrifying, revolting scene. On the ground, somewhere not far off, Loki was rolling around in a whirlwind of blood, dirt, blind rage and emergent fur. She was becoming a… a thing. A dirty, angry, screaming _thing_; and he, Haku, was doing nothing about it. He _could_ do nothing. So instead, he just watched.

So _this_ must have been it, then, the boy thought, observing with an ever-growing sickening feeling in his throat the crazed creature writhe madly on the ground. The reason for her illness. The reason for her nightly absences. The reason for what he had earlier thought was but a trick of light on her teeth. It was all beginning to make sense. Too much sense…

And yet, all the more questions were arising.

Far below the watching doppelganger, the transformation was over and the enormous dirty-white creature rolled onto its legs. It didn't even bother to take in the surrounding scents, which would undoubtedly betray not only the water-clone, but the real Haku's whereabouts as well. Still yelping in frenzy and snapping its fangs at invisible enemies, the beast sped off into the depths of the forest, shedding a dimly-glistening trail of viscous, black blood. The young ninja sat where he was, trembling lightly with terror and shock, until the creature's anguished cries faded away in the distance.

Haku did not follow it. Instead, he crouched down onto his knees and, succumbing to indescribable disgust, doubled over and vomited, again and again, into the drying brushwood.

So this was it, then. The disease.

Loki's secret was uncovered at last.

* * *

Pale morning light filtered through the barren branches, illuminating a tall man crouching down on the rocks below. By the sounds of it (rather muffled because of the bandages covering the man's mouth), he was re-counting the cash he had received earlier for a job well done. Finally, after making absolutely sure that none of the crispy bills had vanished mysteriously somewhere along the way (what with that conniving old hooded monkey around, you just never knew), the man placed his revenue into a small leather pouch and stuffed it into his coat, right over his heart (which would have told the onlookers, if there had been any around, a thing or two about this man's true values). He then got up, with a bit of a difficulty, making an involuntary hand motion towards one of his sides. It had been one rough night… But a night worth every penny.

Well, at least the assignment was accomplished successfully. Zabuza sure was glad now that he'd listened to that insensible little voice in his mind that told him not to decline the old man's offer; although, of course, he probably should have been much more cautious. The victim had seemed to be well-prepared for the last night's encounter. The guy's crew had put up quite a fight. And that was never, ever a good sign.

But that was all behind him, at least. They could all move on. And now Zabuza was quietly heading back towards his cleverly-hidden hideout, where Haku and Loki were most probably still asleep, those lazy-asses, when they should have already been up and practising…

As he was thinking this, Zabuza suddenly became aware of a faint rustle coming from the brushwood nearby. Zabuza's trusted kunai glinted in his ever-ready fingers, prepared to strike down the enemy. Over the years this had become an innate, involuntary action; much like wincing or flinching, only slightly more complex and homicidally-disposed. It just happened of its own accord whenever he felt that something suspicious was up. Or, in this case, to his left.

But before he struck down the small ball of twigs, dry foliage and blue clothing that came rolling out of the thickets, it uncurled to reveal a panting, dishevelled-looking Haku.

"Sah!" the boy straightened out in a salute, looking rather anxious in that unnerving, highly-distinct manner he had of looking anxious.

Zabuza stared at him; then smiled contentedly.

"Training already? Very good, Haku! That's the spirit I like to see in my students. And where's the girl?"

Haku shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. Where to begin?

"Erm. Um. You want to know where Loki is, sir," he said after a pause.

"Yes, Haku. That's what I would like to know," answered Zabuza patiently.

"Ahem."

There was some more uncertain foot-shuffling.

"Well…?"

Haku's facial muscles twitched almost unnoticeably as if wondering whether or not to stretch his mouth into an awkward grin, but then deciding against it.

"Ah, well, you see, sir… That's the problem… Loki isn't exactly, how should I put it… here. Well, she's around, but not _here _in this precise meaning of the word, if that is what you are asking. Um."

Slowly but surely, Zabuza's own rather faint smile slid off his face to become a quite prominent scowl. It could even be seen through the bandages.

"Around? Just what do you mean by that, boy?" the assassin asked, his voice suddenly dangerously quiet. Not Loki, not _again_, not after they had already had that talk… She was quite useful and all, and he would _hate_ having to get rid of her; but if she continued… _misbehaving_, then she left him with no choice… Momochi _could_ forgive a mistake or two, but he had absolutely no use or patience for _constantly _disobedient subordinates.

Haku was beginning to sweat under Zabuza's glower, but his face betrayed nothing. That was the strangest thing about the boy. He could have been fiddling about in uncertainty and stammering, but his face would always remain a mask of forced calm. Such control over facial muscles was undoubtedly deserving of commendation. Unfortunately, Zabuza was not in one of his complimenting moods right now.

"You see, sir, Loki is, Loki is, um, er… Last night, when I woke up, and saw her going out… well… it was crazy, sir, just _crazy_! Once I tell you, you'll probably think _I_'m crazy… but, in any case, I know what I saw and I believe you might like to know this, too."

"Of COURSE I should know!" Zabuza cut off Haku's incoherent stream of interjections, his voice a lion's roar. Needless to say, he was feeling slightly irritated at the fact that his most intelligent student was beginning to adopt Loki's usual nervous stammer. Either this was the two youngsters' constant interaction acting up and not doing the boy any favours, or something really serious was up. And, knowing that _girl_, it was probably the latter. "Just get bloody on with it, dammit!!"

"Yes, sir. Um." Haku desperately tried to get his act together. "You see, sir, Loki is, how should I put it… not exactly…"

And Haku, faltering and glancing around nervously every now and then, as if anticipating a sudden and vicious attack, told Zabuza the entire story of his nocturnal adventure in the woods.

As he listened, the man's face darkened. He was staring fixedly at a point just beyond Haku's shoulder, apparently lost in thought. When the boy finished, he remained silent for a long time before finally muttering one short, almost inaudible phrase under his breath.

"We must find her."

Indeed, there were many questions that Momochi wanted answered right away. And what Momochi wanted he always received. He hopped onto a tree branch, only to find that Haku wasn't following.

"I _said_, we are _going_ to _find_ her!" Zabuza barked ominously. He knew quite well Haku's almost-brotherly affection for the girl, whom the boy had once so painstakingly nursed back to health; and was thus expecting an entire array of protesting remarks. This would be unsurprising. Haku knew very well of all the possible things that could happen to Loki once she was caught. As a quick hint, if one wanted to draw a picture, he would probably have to use a lot of red and blue, and maybe even purple.

But down on the ground, Haku remained silent and grave.

"There is something I must fetch first, then," the boy said.

From the height of his branch, Zabuza scrutinized him through narrowed eyes suspiciously, to determine whether he was having any second thoughts of going off to find Loki on his own and warn her about what was coming.

"Make it quick," he growled at last, deciding that a clever kid like Haku couldn't possibly do something _that _stupid. But even if he did, this wouldn't do much to help Loki in any case.

Down below, Haku nodded and disappeared from view.

* * *

Back in Zabuza's little hut, Haku overturned his knapsack, tossing things out of it at random. Kunai, medicinal herbs, carrots for the rabbit and spare underwear flew this way and that. But then Haku's face lit up triumphantly as he finally caught a glimpse of what he had been looking for. Ah-ha!

Something was taken cautiously out of the leathery depths of the old rucksack. It glinted blindingly as its polished surface caught the brilliant light of the rising sun. Haku held it up in his palms, examining the thing with a solemn look.

It was a silver arrowhead.

* * *

Exhausted, Loki was shambling towards the place where, as she could vaguely remember, their hideout was situated. Her kimono was back over her bruised torso, covering the worst of the traces left by her midnight madness. She was so tired that she couldn't think. Just a few more steps, said a small but persistent voice inside her head. Just a few more steps, and then a few _more_, and you will soon be able to fall face-down onto your bed or haystack or whatever it is this time, and close your eyes and drift off to sleep at last. Sleep… Sweet sleep, oh, how Loki missed it. It seemed like an eternity since the last time she had slept. She was craving it now, that golden sleep, longing for it more than anything else in the entire world. That blissful moment, full of the feeling of something soft under her head and belly, and nothing but the slightly-orangey insides of her eyelids filling her vision for just a brief moment before she happily blacked out… Ohh, this would have been the _greatest_ _thing_ right about now.

How far away she still was from home… Oh, what the hell. So what, who cared about Haku and Zabuza possibly looking for her back at the cottage? She would only lie down for a brief moment, no longer… She was only closing her eyes for a second, remaining completely conscious the entire time. Loki was in full control of her body. She knew she would not fall asleep.

She was in _absolute _control of her body.

She knew she would not fall…

…Asleep.

Sleeeeeep…

Loki did not know for how long she had been out of it before she suddenly became aware of smells, _loud _smells that sent alarm signals up her nose and towards her shutting-down brain; but she ignored those. Sleep was more important right now, and everything else could wait. She felt _pain_ piercing her muscles all of a sudden; sharp, metal pain that was _annoying_ her somehow, grating on her nerves like a cat's claws on the sofa cloth, but Loki's worn-out body ignored that, too. She knew that it wasn't sensible, she realized it through her sleep, but there was nothing she could do about it. Through the strange fog of fatigue and oblivion that enveloped her, Loki could just barely distinguish voices… muffled voices… familiar voices that simply wouldn't let her sleep, that thundered heavily and unpleasantly on her groggy mind like drumsticks on a tightly-taut war drum, as if trying to bring her back into consciousness; but all of that, too, gave way and was swallowed up by the black void that was quickly engulfing her…

The world was gone.

…It reappeared again, much later and feeling somehow uncomfortable. And also, for some inexplicable reason, upside down. Slowly, up-turned furniture came into focus. There was also a window. Some light was filtering through it; though it did little to diffuse the cool darkness of the room. Yes, Loki was quite sure by now that she was in a room. Even more precisely, it was definitely the shabby room of Zabuza's little hut. But how did she get here? Did she make it all the way to this place without even noticing? How odd. Ah, the amazing things your body could do while your brain was asleep…

But something still wasn't quite right. Ah, yes, Loki was upside down. Now, to fix that…

Loki struggled to pull herself upright; but something cold and _wet _was firmly holding her suspended by her ankles in that awkward, overturned position. What the…?

"Haku?" Loki called uncertainly, her voice coarse from sleep. "Zabuza-san?"

"Awake already?"

Zabuza's face slowly filled Loki's vision. There was a strange look in his eyes. He looked as though he had just been told that a new, rare species of extra-poisonous scorpions had been recently discovered and that he was being the one called in to sort out the specimen. Loki didn't yet know what she was going to be yelled at for this time, but she didn't doubt for a single second the fact that she _was, _indeed, going to be yelled at.

"Er, yes, Zabuza-san. Um, could you please put me down on my feet, Zabuza-san?"

"Only after you answer some questions," he murmured softly. The tone of his voice did _not _imply any kind intentions.

Loki was pending upside-down in mid-air with a suspicious look in her eyes. What could it be _this _time? She hadn't done anything, or at least nothing out of the ordinary… The humans were _always _displeased with something. Why? She didn't understand. Humans were very strange.

"What questions?" she asked.

Unless… It was always a risk, after all.

But no. Couldn't possibly be _that_.

"I want you to tell me the truth about _what_ you were up to last night," said Zabuza simply. Unlike the Chief back at the Centre, he was not a man of lengthy introductions.

"I… I was just out hunti--" the girl tried timidly.

"I want you to tell me the _truth_ about what you were up to last night!" barked Zabuza irritably. He was _not _in the mood for this.

In the meantime, Loki could feel frost settling gently onto her aching insides as realization dawned. She noted the use of 'this night' instead of 'this morning'. Had he finally figured it out? Did he know for _sure_, or did he simply suspect her of something? In any case, Loki didn't see the point of exposing her cards until she was absolutely certain that this was what she _thought _it was all about. It was probably about something else, she soothed herself. Couldn't be that. If it was, they would just kill her on the spot. So, as long as she played the idiot and stuck to her usual set of excuses, the situation could still be saved…

Hopefully.

"But this _is _the tr--"

There was a sharp, fleshy sound as Zabuza hit her across the face.

"You should know better than lying to _me_," the man growled. "Answer the question!"

Loki rubbed her cheek sulkily. That _hurt._ The funny thing was, what she told him _was _the actual truth. She just never said what she went out hunting _for_. Or, more precisely, whom she didn't want to find hunted down in the morning.

"I really don't understand," she tried.

"All right. But what can you tell us about _this_?" said a soft voice from somewhere out of Loki's sight before Zabuza could interject. She recognized it as Haku's.

And then, her olfactory vision was suddenly filled with lilac-coloured fog that pinched unpleasantly at her nostrils. It didn't take her long to realize that the thing Haku was holding in his palm was…

_Silver._

So they knew. Both of them; they _had _figured it out, after all. Otherwise, why would they ask about silver?

So, this was it, then. Game over.

In the opposite corner, Zabuza also looked somewhat surprised by his apprentice's interference. He had never seen the arrow that Haku had taken out of Loki's back on their first ever encounter.

"What is this, boy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow; or, rather, the patch of skin above his eye where an eyebrow should have been.

"Something that would have come in very handy if Loki managed to resist our Lethargy Jutsu and tried to put up more of a fight." Haku's half-smile was unusually cold. "Perhaps you could explain that better than I, Loki. I have been keeping _this_ for quite a while, but I could just never find the right time to ask about it." The boy held up the arrowhead.

"Y-you've had this thing ever since the… the _beginning_?" an astonished voice blurted out, and Loki was surprised to discover that it had been her own. "But how come I never felt-- I mean, _why_ would you do this?" She was so taken aback by this revelation that she had completely forgotten to keep up the clueless act.

"Aah, but aroma-therapy is not all those medicinal herbs are good for," Haku explained with a little smile. "You see, I figured you probably wouldn't be too happy knowing this was around, so I didn't want to… distress you. So I just kept it within a bunch of especially fragrant herbs. I thought it was curious, see. When I first found you, you were dying, Loki, _bleeding _to near death from arrow-wounds. Well, there was nothing surprising about that; at least not at first. But then, after I took the arrow out and your wounds have healed sufficiently, we had a battle, remember?"

Loki was watching him gravely, quietly.

"We had a battle, and we tied," continued Haku nonchalantly. "We were both pretty worn out by the end: it took me a week or so to recover properly. You were okay by _evening_, Loki. Admittedly, I didn't think anything of it at the time, being too busy worrying about my own gashes; but then I noticed how fast your injuries were healing after your practice-combats with Zabuza. So it made me wonder – if you could recover so quickly from fights, then why had the arrow-wounds been such a problem?

"I was curious about it, but I never got around to asking you – it felt rather… awkward, to tell you the truth. But I wondered about it anyway, because, well, anything having to do with injuries and treatment just happens to interest me. So then I figured that the reason for your lengthy sickness period probably lay in the arrow that struck you. So I went to the spot where I first found you (luckily, we haven't yet moved away by that time), and I found this and kept it, to examine it closer. I checked it for all possible poisons that I could think of, but found that it was tainted with none.

"I couldn't figure it out. But then I noticed that the arrowhead was made out of silver. I found it strange, because pure silver isn't the sort of metal you'd usually make a weapon out of (unless you are a weird rich person who knows nothing about real combat, that is). So I thought, then, that it must have been a _custom _weapon created, for whatever reasons, to hurt _specifically _you. That tied in somewhat with the story you told me later, the one about that centre place, and your escape from it…" (at the mention of the Centre Loki gave an instinctive wince, but she remembered in time that the story she had given Haku then had had no mention of werewolves in it. Not that it mattered anymore, anyway.) "…but this is beside the point. I figured out that it had to be the _silver_ itself that actually caused you the most harm, and not the sharpness or the hardness of the edges; so I thought I had part of the mystery solved. But I still wanted to know more. Why silver? How did it affect your blood?

"And then I noticed that you kept getting this strange illness each month; and _then_…"

Here, Haku's lengthy speech finally broke off. "_You_ know," he said to Zabuza.

"Indeed," the man drawled, eyeing the arrowhead in Haku's hand. Then, after a moment's reflection, he snatched it out of the boy's unresisting fingers and stomped over to Loki to wave it in front of her face.

"I want the _truth_," he snarled, "Right now. Because see here, I've got this magical arrow-thing and I am _losing_ my _patience_. I've had it with your insolence. I took you in, and you dare to keep _secrets_ from me? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just hack your head off with this right here and _now_!"

The silver arrow-tip got shoved frantically into Loki's face a couple more times and she recoiled instinctively, trying to turn her nose away from the hated scent. Inside her head, thoughts were dashing about feverishly, like swallows over a river. The humans were threatening her… They had silver… They could _kill _her… What should she do? Should she try to attack them and escape? What should she _do_?

Yet they didn't seem to realize that she was a bloody _were_wolf.

Perhaps that meant that she still had a shot.

Zabuza finally stepped away, waiting for a response.

Loki was revolving slowly this way and that, still suspended in mid-air, and watching the humans thoughtfully. She was weighing her chances. She also realized that she didn't have much time. The prospect of danger could clear one's mind perfectly; and Loki's was presently as clear as the purest of diamonds. There was no angry wolf-feeling clogging her conscience this time, so she was able to think surprisingly rationally.

Think rationally. If she attacked any one of the humans now and tried to make a run for it, she would most definitely be put to death; whether by silver or other means, this made no difference. Either way it would be defeating the entire purpose of escape. The option of staying with the team then would also be ruled out. Zabuza liked to take risks; but Loki had already been trying his patience for long enough. As for Haku, the boy was fanatical about protecting his mentor. Thus, attacking the former (or any one of the humans) would win her no points with either of the two.

Well, she _was_ a werewolf, after all. It was still a question of who was stronger, especially if she managed to fully transform. But this was the full moon period and Loki felt pretty worn out this morning, while both ninja were excellent fighters and, unlike her, in tip-top shape.

Well, Zabuza's side looked a bit torn. Loki found her hind thoughts wondering about what could have happened and nudged them in the ribs to get them to concentrate on matters more pressing. Even if Zabuza wasn't in such a great condition today, he still had Haku _and _the silver arrow.

And besides, even if she _did_ manage to escape, where would she go? Finding her pack was always the long-term goal, but _realistically _what would Loki do with herself once she was out on her own? At least with Zabuza she knew where she stood. There was organization. There was a _purpose_. There were _also_ regular meals and, every once in a while, a soft bed to sleep on. Without Zabuza, Loki's access to the latter two would no longer be guaranteed.

And the meals were always cooked. That was the good thing about being around Haku and Zabuza. Loki liked cooked meals; as well as a whole bunch of other benefits the ninjas' company provided. She might have thought herself to be tough and strong; but when it came to fulfilling the gastronomic needs of her organism, she had no _idea _how she would ever manage without those two.

Besides, Loki was realizing with just a hint of annoyance; she had grown rather strongly attached to these two.

In the backdrop, Zabuza began screaming something incoherently again while Haku was watching the entire thing expectantly from afar.

Finally, Loki hung her head; or rather pressed her chin to her chest with a compliant expression. She might not understand some things and be absolutely clueless about the rest, but she was not stupid. And trying to pull off an escape would be a very dramatic and a really _stupid_ thing to do in the given situation. In any case, it was better to have them trust her for now and make a run for it only when they least expected it, if the need ever arose.

But in order to gain this trust, she would have to tell them the truth. Or, at least, as much of it as the circumstances required.

"But if I tell you everything, you will kill me anyway, won't you," Loki murmured out loud.

Zabuza stopped yelling.

"First you speak, and then we'll see," he said, his tone suddenly becoming calm, cold and business-like. The truth was that he didn't much care if she was the devil himself as long as she would prove as powerful as he had been hoping she was, and play on his side in the end. All he wanted now was to work out if she _was_, indeed, going to play on his side. What Zabuza needed in the end, after all, was _loyal_ _allies_. And 'loyal' included 'honest' and 'truthful'. Everything else was just details, as far as Momochi was concerned. And he was not very bothered about the details.

Loki watched him some more, like a poker-player trying to figure out whether his opponent was bluffing.

At last, she reached a decision. It was _final_. There would be no going back, she knew. But it _had_ to be done. It was, perhaps, the best and only option available – otherwise, there was actually more to lose than to gain, if you thought about it well. Anyway, final decisions had gotten Loki through all the way _this_ far; so she might as well try it again.

If they attempted to kill her, Loki would defend herself. And that would be no feeble defence, either, because she too would be fighting to kill. But at least _then_ she'd know that she'd done everything in her power to stay afloat. At least she'd know that she'd tried her _best_. That was all that counted in the end – whether you gave it your _all_ before dying.

In any case, Haku and Zabuza still weren't realizing that she was a _werewolf_; or at least seemed to be completely oblivious to the usual human idea, which was that werewolves either had to be put down on sight, or were supposed to be subordinate to humans by default.

This made her feel slightly more comfortable. Perhaps she _did_ have a chance.

With a soft sigh and an 'all right', Loki began her story. It was pretty much the same story Haku and Zabuza already knew, only with all of the blanks now filled in. The two assassins listened intently.

Beyond the shabby wooden walls, a bird chirruped. Somewhere outside, a new day was starting.

The game wasn't over yet.

**End Chapter!** Congratulations for reading thirty-four pages in a single go! (Not if you are Ash, though. I know you can make it through much, much greater parts in, like, five minutes, Ash. ;) Anyway, hope your eyes are all right. O.o Haha, the beginning wasn't very action-packed, but, well, I wanted to include a behind-the-scenes aspect of their lives that doesn't necessarily revolve around fighting. I mean, if I was reading this fic, I would wonder: if Loki is a wild girl from who knows where, how would she suddenly learn how to read or behave at dinner? And if she talks so much about running off into the wild, why doesn't she? And when does the villains' laundry get done? (A question of perennial interest for me: I mean, I cannot actually see Orochimaru or Kabuto washing their underwear or just walking casually into a cleaning house with a basketful of dirty socks. I am sorry, I just can't. And yet, they've _got _to wear both socks _and _underwear… Man, either they clean them by magic or stink a _lot_! …Ah, the questions of my life…)

Anyway, I enjoy developing Haku and Zabuza's characters as well as Loki's. And I am very happy with the way Haku is fleshing out. They all almost feel like my own now… :O I luff you, Haku, Loki and Zabuza, you are my new babies. :)

End rant. So long. Rant to you some more next chapter.


	16. Tunnels

_**16. The Tunnels**_

Snow was falling through the night in thick, swirling flakes. Black spruces towered over the frosted land, an almost indistinguishable mass of ominous darkness among the white, furious flurry raging over the Water Country.

Somewhere in the night, six shadows were racing through the blizzard. They dashed among the drooping fir branches, dislodging avalanches of snow; they glided over the ground like a flock of enormous, deadly birds of prey. They were on to something.

They suddenly stopped, landing softly onto the rime-covered trees surrounding a small, forgotten glade somewhere in the heart of the woods. The untouched eye of pristine white was taken into a tight circle of menacing figures glaring at it from above. Then one of the shadows detached itself from its tree, descending into the bluish, frosty depths as if wishing to examine something closer up. It stood there for a moment, waiting for something; and then, with just one sideways chopping motion of its arm through the air, it cleared off the entire snow-bank. The flakes dispersed in a pallid hurricane, revealing the gaping blackness of soil underneath. The figure stalked over to the centre of the newly-formed circle and crouched down, squinting at something on the ground.

There, expertly hidden by miscellaneous forest debris, old traces of a bonfire stared back from among the rotting foliage.

* * *

Zabuza lay on his bed, pondering about… well, everything. It was a mission-free morning, so there was a lot of time on Momochi's hands to ponder. This had been one hectic month, and the… ahem, the fund-raising was going well, so they could finally afford to spend a couple of days in a not very comfortable, but at least a warm and secluded inn.

And in good time, too. Winter settled in early, as it always did in the Water Country. Zabuza listened to the blizzard whistling and moaning like a wounded animal outside the sturdy walls of the inn. He then glanced over at the second bed in a corner. There, unperturbed by the wailing fury of the snowstorm raging away in the night, Haku and Loki were fast asleep. Haku, wrapped in the blankets, was dozing in a semi-sitting position in a spot farthest away from the window. He was frowning slightly in his sleep, but other than that he seemed calm. Loki, half-curled up on top of her sheets, was occupying that entire part of the bed that would not be, psychologically, Haku's personal space. Not that Loki had any idea of what personal space was; it was just that Haku, when sleeping, could kick really hard. It was unintentional, of course; but it hurt nevertheless.

Loki… Now she was strange, very strange, Zabuza mused. He still remembered that day, the day on which her big secret was finally uncovered. Oh, her story made sense; in that insane kind of way truth sometimes has of making sense. And yet… some parts made no sense at all. Or perhaps Zabuza was simply missing a few crucial points of the conundrum.

After he had found out that Loki was not, in fact, a human but apparently belonged to some kind of a separate caste called '_werewolves_' (_what_-wolves?), Zabuza was surprised to discover that he took the news unnaturally calmly. Well, what _should _he have done? How _do_ you react to it if one of your best recruits announces that turning into a rabid, bloodthirsty monster every once in a while (or, more precisely, during the full moon) is customary to the species? That had taken quite a while to sink in.

And yet, oddly enough, Zabuza wasn't surprised. He thought it was rather bizarre, he never remembered hearing _anything _about a hunted species of wolf-people and a mysterious Centre that sought to subjugate them; but somehow he just wasn't _surprised_. After all, he _was _the Demon of the Mist and a genetic mystery on his own with his mouth set with two rows of pointed teeth, when it came down to that. And then there was Haku with his rare and incredibly powerful Kekkei Genkai, the full extent of which even he, Zabuza, could not yet fathom. Loki would only make a fine addition to the troupe, an exhibit undeniably worthy of their little freak gallery, the assassin thought with an unpleasant smirk. Huh, what a company… A beast-child was all they needed. Now, it would be really amusing if it turned out that the rabbit had some kind of mystic powers as well…

As if hearing Zabuza's thoughts, the white rabbit in Haku's arms twitched its ears and blinked a mad, pinkish eye. A hand got placed onto its head as Haku shifted his position unconsciously in his sleep.

The next few weeks after the revelation of Loki's secret had been… quite unusual. It felt as if she had suddenly become a whole new creature, a stranger again, to whom they all had to get used to. Days passed in pretty much the same manner; only now, every time the ninja happened to be fighting, eating or resting under the trees after a long day of training, Zabuza just couldn't help but notice how… _wolfish _Loki's behaviour was. It was as if Momochi suddenly became aware of a wild animal residing within her and peering at him suspiciously out of her cautious olive-green eyes. Oddly, this didn't alarm him.

They even got to see the girl transform into her wolf-form. She had been very reluctant about it at first, trying to lie by saying that she only ever _changed _during the full moon; but Haku had his little ways of persuading people. That Haku. He even sacrificed a kimono for the cause. It all turned to bits and shreds after Loki was done with the transformation.

It felt really… weird, watching her _change_. It hadn't been as terrible as Haku had described in his story; but perhaps that was because during daytime Loki didn't go mad. She didn't look that frightening, either; if you didn't know better, you'd take her for an ordinary, slightly oversized street mutt with, admittedly, very clever green eyes. Though when Zabuza watched her watching him out of a furry, shaggy white body, he just couldn't shake off the feeling that this wasn't an illusion or a temporary transfiguration of any kind – he realized that this _was _in fact, Loki's _second permanent body, _her _second default state_; that she, unlike humans, could choose whether to look like a human girl or an animal; that she was as comfortable in her second form, if not more so, than in her first; and that this appearance, unlike the one invoked by a Jutsu, would not vanish after any amount of time unless Loki _chose_ to change back.

And it seemed that Zabuza was not the only one who could feel the animal within Loki's being. Haku, too, remained wary of the girl for quite a while after that disturbing discovery. Even Momochi, a man entirely insensitive in this area, could feel the estrangement seeping in-between his two students in form of long, embarrassed silences and frowning, diverted looks. Loki was not very pleased with the fact that her first and so far only friend not only spied on her to find out and disclose her intimate secret (although what else _could _she expect from somebody so devoted to his master Zabuza?), but was also now eyeing her with suspicion and distrust, not at all unlike the humans at the Centre. Haku, on the other hand, preferred to keep his guard with the girl after having witnessed her full-moon transmogrification. He also felt that in return for everything he and Zabuza have done for Loki, the least she could do was share the whole truth with them from the very beginning; especially a truth as important as this. The boy did not approve of what he thought was dishonesty towards their group, as well as towards his favourite mentor. The two still worked well together as a team; although now they spoke less and less to each other, their interaction diminishing to curt interjections and brief orders during training combats. It was uncomfortable, and none of the trio liked it very much; and, as Zabuza was realizing with a hint of annoyance, it had to stop very soon. As much as he disliked the thought, the fact remained that in order for his further plans to be crowned with success, Momochi relied heavily on both his disciples' getting along well. Without that, there would be no unity in the team, and, therefore, they would all be doomed to fail. Again. Nope, lack of unity was never good for _this_ kind of business.

But by a lucky stroke of fate, an unforeseen incident mended Haku and Loki's friendship. It happened just a few evenings before the trio's arrival at the inn, in which they were currently spending the night; and it was Haku's rabbit that had to be thanked for the happy reunion. During one of their rest breaks the rabbit managed to escape the vigilant supervision of its owner; and it was Loki's sensitive nose and immediate interference that saved the little critter from being devoured by a wandering pack of starving wolves. Needless to say, Haku felt so grateful as he was receiving the small bundle of white, breathing fur into his arms from a scowling but flushing Loki that he had forgotten all about acting with suspicion and distrust. Very soon Zabuza could already hear them having a conversation over from where the knapsacks were, catching up on everything they'd wanted to share, and quite happy to be friends again.

Now that her werewolf secret was out, Loki also acquired a new function in the team. She now acted as a spy, sent into villages in her wolf-form to sniff out what was up. Incidentally, that was how they found this inn. Loki considered it her personal accomplishment and was very proud to finally be of some real use. Zabuza could almost see this pride spilling out of his student's joyful, twinkling eyes. He also thought, after watching Loki's furry hind hurry off on a number of occasions, that he was, perhaps, now beginning to understand how she had managed to get past Nami Hidaka's heavily guarded gates on that eventful night…

And not only that. Loki's keen sense of smell was now starting to make a lot more sense as well…

* * *

Somewhere in the snowy night, a vine slithered past, an unnervingly green streak on a blanket of white. The atmosphere trembled, sending blue electricity sparks in all directions; and, for a moment, the surrounding grey air _imploded _to reveal a patch of thick, luscious, flowering shrubbery among a wall of gigantic, century-old pines… The apparition hovered over the snow-covered field unsteadily, quavering like a mirage; only to be swallowed up by the furious blizzard the next second. The Kallmanah forests were ever-persistently probing the barriers between this universe and their own. So far these barriers were holding; but who knew for how long…?

* * *

Back in the inn's wide, warm, slightly insect-infested bed, Haku was having a nightmare that had nothing to do with bed bugs. Trapped in some ghoulish reality visible only to him, he was running around in circles as tentacles of all shapes and sizes were reaching out to get him. He desperately tried to escape, but wherever he turned, he met yet another impassable wall of green, squirming, rope-like _things_ trying to grab him, trying to make contact… It was as if _something_ was probing inquisitively at his conscience, wishing to break open his mind like a suitcase and shake out the contents for examination… And suddenly he was already feeling the sickening vines twisting around his legs and closing around his arms… and felt _something else_, for which he had no words but which he knew had been filling his insides with a warm glow of hope all this time, leaking out of all his crevices in a hot trickle of silvery… silvery _energy_…

But then…

One of the tentacles holding him reached out in a sudden, jerky motion and shook his shoulder, as if to wake him from a slumber. And from somewhere incredibly far away, Haku thought he could hear a deep voice that sounded oddly like Zabuza's call out to him:

"Fwawawaaaa wawaaa? Wawawa fwaaaa-wa!"

"Whaa…? Wu'ss happ'nin'?"

In the rapidly dispersing darkness, the tentacle strangling the boy shortened and thickened to become a muscular, violently-shaking his shoulder arm. Zabuza's face was hovering over the boy some distance behind it, stricken with panic and annoyance.

"Come on, open your eyes, you lazy sack of bloody bird guano! No time to be lying around enjoying sweet dreams! We're moving out, and fast," hissed the man, his voice filled with urgency.

The last of the mists of oblivion finally lifted, and Haku caught sight of Loki flailing madly in the background in an attempt to pack all of their belongings into the knapsack at once before Zabuza turned his angered, agitated attention towards her. Her mission failed, because the next moment Haku heard Momochi's annoyed growl aimed at the girl:

"Stop mopping about and _get our bloody things together_, you useless…"

Something bad was up; or rather all around them, among a flurry of urgent arms, flying things and hushed, hurried curses. Haku sat up in his bed, his head throbbing. What was _wrong_ with him? Usually he sprang up alert and ready to go even when awakened at the most indisposing times of night if needed, but _this _time his mind just wouldn't clear… It was as if that nightmare, whatever it had been, was somehow still holding him in its clutches… But how was that possible? He knew about dreams, they were just random chemical processes going on inside his brain, that was all… Haku didn't like it one bit.

But there was no time to give any thought to dreams at this point. In a matter of seconds everything was packed. Loki made to go for the window, but Zabuza stopped her and, in a single wide swipe of his arms, brought both of his students towards him.

"Oh no, the windows aren't _safe_," he muttered in a low, warning voice. "We are gonna have to go _this_ way…"

He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to block out all sounds. Somewhere down, on a floor below theirs, loud thuds and crashes could be heard.

Zabuza was still concentrating. With both his forefingers pressed to his lower lip, he looked as though he was telling somebody invisible to be quiet. Haku and Loki were staring up at him anxiously from under his arms, not daring to utter a word. A viscous silence stretched between the three…

The thuds from downstairs were rapidly approaching.

This was taking a hell of a lot of chakra… In the meantime, the rabbit in Haku's hands twitched its ears nervously, blinking at the door in alarm. All around them, the boarders of the lodge were waking up, disturbed by the commotion caused by the unknown perpetrators. On the stairwell, somebody screamed. The unidentified pursuers were almost at the renegades' door…

In the middle of the room, Haku and Loki suddenly felt a wave of chakra wash over them, like the warmth of sunshine spilling over their heads and enveloping their bodies in a warm, slightly prickly embrace. Then the air became unexpectedly chilly, freezing increasingly more and more until Loki felt as though her nose might begin to sprout icicles. The world in front of her eyes trembled and swam sideways. Just before the surroundings became an indistinguishable blur, however, she thought she caught sight of their dormitory's door flying off its hinges. But the next second Loki, along with her team-mate and master, was already spinning through unidentified dimensions away, far away from the room and into a direction unknown.

Four men in black uniforms rushed into the room in time to witness Zabuza and his followers dispersing in a whirlwind of damp, icy air. There was no time to intercept them; but one of the ninja reached into the depths of his uniform and took out a small dark blob of… stuff. With all the force he could muster he tossed the blob into the disappearing indoor hurricane; and in the next second it vanished, along with the wind funnel, without a trace.

* * *

The Jutsu unwound, spitting out three madly flailing shapes into a snow-bank somewhere deep in the woods. The pristine whiteness was momentarily disturbed by three bodies flying into it at full speed, and was then wiped clean once more by a passing frost-carrying wind. After a few ponderous, snowdrift-filled moments, Haku's head poked out of the white, fluffy pile and shook madly to get the snow out of the eyes. A soft scuttling noise came from his left, and the snow parted to reveal the rabbit poking its muzzle tentatively upward, towards the air. In a desperate leap towards freedom, the little creature jumped out of its frosty prison only to land into another snow-bank; but a second later it gave a frightened squeak as the snow-bank unfolded and started rising to its feet. Haku flinched, but only for a brief second, for he recognized his mentor's bandaged visage on the slowly unfurling, snow-covered monster. It was Zabuza getting up.

Loki was found sitting in a cold, white heap not far off. With her left hand she was picking up fistfuls of snow and carefully letting it drop back down out of her palm in a perfunctory fashion, watching this rather uncomplicated process with a contemplative expression all the while. She had never seen snow before; or at least couldn't remember ever having seen it. It was very strange and very wet. For some reason it made her think of milk. Thinking of milk made Loki hungry. She made a snowball and sniffed at it, but her nose was filled with the sharp, greyish scent of water and very little else. Not milk, then. But she was still hungry. Loki looked up at the approaching two with a questioning look.

"Snow," said Haku automatically, who by that time had already gotten used to explaining to Loki some of the most usual natural phenomena. "Like your typical rain, only frozen. Happens every winter. And no, it has nothing whatsoever to do with milk."

"All right, enough of this," Zabuza interrupted gruffly. They had no time for nonsense, and he still had to let his students in on what happened.

"What was that attack all about?" was the question that Haku did not ask. It would be a waste of time to ask a pointless question such as this, since it was quite clear that the attack was all about capturing them and probably killing them on the spot; or possibly torturing them and then delivering them directly to the Mizukage for questioning and, consequently, more torturing. It would also be useless to brainstorm the attackers' possible identity, since they were almost definitely the Hunter nin. So instead, the question that Haku asked was: "How did you know?"

"I _knew_ by keeping on my guard and paying attention rather than flying off into the Jolly La-la Land of Dreams the first chance I got," barked Zabuza rather unpleasantly. The fact that those sons of bitches managed to sniff them all out _again_ did nothing to improve his mood. Was it an accident this time as well? Somehow he just didn't think so. And the fact that they hadn't bothered about keeping quiet and made a huge turmoil in the inn was very peculiar as well.

"Was it the Hunter nin?" asked Loki, giving up the snow-examination and getting to her feet. Oh, she remembered the Hunter nin all right. They were those nasty humans with the smelly masks. Zabuza talked about them all of the time he wasn't talking about practice or making plans for the future.

"Didn't you smell their masks?" barked Zabuza.

"I… I…" Loki stammered, flushing. There had been so much commotion, so many different smells that they had all mixed up in her nose and she couldn't remember _what _she smelled anymore, except for a vague recollection of a multicoloured cloud punctuated by a definite, powerful odour of generations of squished bedbugs.

"Never you mind that, I am sure it _was _the Hunter nin," grumbled Zabuza, deciding that he had no more time left for apprentice-intimidating, "and this means that they will probably appear here any second."

There was the universe's shortest dread-filled pause. It escalated in a meek question:

"So, what do we do now?"

"Well, what does it _look _like we're doing? We're scramming for our lives, and we've got to make sure they don't find us again. Loki!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Stop gawping like an idiot and tell me if you sense anything. Did you manage to take a whiff of our followers?"

"Um… um…" Loki made an attempt to unravel the vague colourful cloud still lingering in her memory, brushing the persistent crum odour aside. "Y-yes, sir! Got it, sir!" she reported after a while.

"Well then?"

Loki concentrated. As far as she could tell there was nothing abroad, nothing… Suddenly she remembered something, and took out her nose-filters. Oh-kay, let's try this again…

She sniffed.

"I do not smell anybody around except for us and a fox and a wondering wolf-pack somewhere not very far," she concluded, "but there is something very odd sitting on your right forearm."

Zabuza glanced at his arm. There, attached to his skin like a strange, round leech, hung a small dark blob of unidentified stuff. Zabuza eyed it for a moment with a shocked expression in his suddenly contracted pupils; then, without further hesitation, he detached it from his skin with a kunai. _How_ could he have not felt that? He carefully examined the spot on his arm to which the blob had attached itself, expecting to see a wound or at least a sore. But his skin underneath was unbroken and smooth; or at least as smooth as the skin of somebody living a rough life in the forests could be, which was definitely not, say, the smoothness of a young geisha's cheek or a baby's bum. And that was perfectly normal. Finding a bum where his arm should have been, whether the former belonged to a baby, a geisha, or anything else, now _that _would be something to worry about.

"Aargh, look, it's getting away!" he heard Haku's shriek and, disturbingly out-of-character pink visions of young geishas' buttocks evaporating quickly from his mind, looked up in time to see the boy send an array of ice senbon after something leaving a quickly-departing deep line in the snow. Always on alert, Zabuza's arm was already flinging a kunai when his consciousness snapped to attention. That was shinobi instincts for you.

With a triumphant 'I _got _it!' Haku ran over to see his quarry as one of the senbon struck and the line stopped advancing. He was soon joined by a curious Loki and a glaring Zabuza. The trio bent over the senbon-punctured snow-bank… but no matter how hard they looked, they could find no trace of the mysterious blob. It vanished.

All heads turned to Loki, who shrugged.

"_Damn_," swore Zabuza with passion. "That was _not a bloody good sign_. It is a good thing we spotted it soon, at least… Well done, girl!"

Loki glowed like a 100-Watt light bulb at the praise. The tingly feeling, long forgotten in all the commotion of the past months, strolled nonchalantly through the girl's mind with a casual whistle. Loki cursed herself for that. She _hated_ going soft.

Without any further words, the three renegades gathered together and Zabuza folded his fingers to form the first seal. The rabbit had to run to catch up.

And the next moment they were off again, swirling away into the unknown, further and further away from the dangerous spot as Zabuza's Jutsu carried them off in damp, chilly clutches…

…A few moments later, four black shapes appeared seemingly out of thin air and landed, not very gracefully, into the already-disrupted snow-bank. By the time they got out and took a good look around, there was, of course, no one in sight. They were too late.

One of the Hunters eyed suspiciously the thin trail that the blob left behind in an attempt to escape Haku's ice senbon. He raised two hands tentatively, as if contemplating something; then clapped slowly, three times.

* * *

There was a threefold 'fwap' sound as Zabuza, Haku and Loki landed into a much smaller snow-bank somewhere else in the forest.

Further ahead, from among the trees, a looming dark shape was visible. The ninja squinted at it, trying to distinguish what it was. Loki took a couple of tentative steps forward.

"Hey, this looks vaguely familiar," the girl said after a while. "And it smells familiar, too," she conceded.

This took a fraction of a moment to sink in. There was a groan as the trio realized where it was.

"Oh dear," Haku moaned.

"Oh _fuck_!" Zabuza cursed.

"Oh f—" Loki started, but corrected herself instantly under (or rather above, as she was slightly taller) Haku's sharp, piercing-to-the-point-of-drilling glare. "_Shoot_?" she tried rather uncertainly, with an awkward smile; but Haku was no longer paying her any attention. He was already immersed in examining the ominous shape that Zabuza was glaring at from among the trees.

They were back at the lodge. At the exact same lodge which they were in such a hurry to leave. Its illuminated windows were winking mockingly at them through the barren branches. From somewhere not too far ahead, faint screams could still be heard. Zabuza emitted a long combination of curses under his breath.

* * *

Back in the snow-covered field, the Hunter clapped his hands.

Underneath his feet, the snow began to melt. Soon, damp ground became slowly apparent. The soil was black. There was nothing wrong with that. Black was the normal colour that the soil should be. It was the sign of good, fertile earth. What was _not _normal was the fact that this particular patch of soil kept getting blacker and blacker as the Hunters watched.

* * *

"Are you going to transport us somewhere else?" Loki asked, turning back to her master.

Zabuza grunted, narrowing his eyes. "No…" he muttered, having finished to curse. He had been breathing heavily. "I have already used up too much chakra on we transport one more time and they happen to find us _again_, I will have no more strength left to fight… and the two of you won't be able to handle a squadron of Hunters all by yourselves, no matter how skilled you may be deluded to think that you are… We've got to get away by foot, and quickly!"

But it was too late. Somehow, the Hunters found out that the unlucky trio had returned; and a couple of them were already racing through the trees towards the renegades…

* * *

Grrr!wrth had a job to do. He was the leader of the group. He had to watch over them and make sure shit didn't happen to them. Lots of shit could happen to them if Grrr!wrth weren't there, standing guard.

Grrr!wrth's head was raised high, nostrils twitching slightly as he took in the smells travelling to and fro, or rather fro and fro, on the cold northern winds. Something suspicious was up… The uncomplicated machinery of Grrr!wrth's brain set to work, trying to figure out if it was dangerous enough to make shit happen to his group, and, therefore, if it was dangerous enough to run away from.

In the meantime, the group was under the hill, sniffing around in the snow. There was hardly anything edible to be found. Fearsome winters of the Water Country drove many living creatures into hiding. However, some of such living creatures often turned into dead creatures in the process. And if the group could find them in the snow, well, nobody minded the taste of carrion. In the coldness of ice and frost, things got preserved rather well. You just had to watch out for the bears.

On the top of the small hill, Grrr!wrth came to a conclusion. He yapped warningly a couple of times, and the group, abandoning their fruitless search, dispersed in the grey morning gloom.

* * *

The soil kept getting blacker and blacker, until blackness became almost like a skin. The small patch of land started bubbling like a boiling cauldron until, at last, the blackness separated from the earth and floated upwards in tiny dark blobs. The blobs condensed in the Hunter's outstretched hand, joining to become one. The man's fist clenched around the soft, slightly pulsating darkness. He nodded at his companions. They had all they needed now.

Besides, it seemed as though their team-mates managed to locate the outlaws at last. It was time to return.

* * *

In the forest near the lodge, Zabuza's team turned to face the Hunters. There was no way around it. To escape the pursuit they had to fight, and win.

The Hunters were not a talkative bunch. Thus, no customary threats and demeaning speeches preceded the clash of the two opposing sides. Why waste breath and energy on pointless statements like "This time it will be the end of you!" or self-evident explanations of the Jutsu in use? The clanging of colliding weapons were all the sounds you needed to make or hear when you were in combat. That was the way Zabuza _liked_ it.

It was still dark, and difficult to tell who was winning, or how many opponents there were. Zabuza could only vaguely hear his apprentices fighting some way off; but there was no time to look for them, or, let alone, try to helpthem out. The Hunters were pressing in; and aid to their side was arriving. Momochi cursed silently as he blocked two kunai and dodged four erratic limbs, but very nearly missed a leg swipe. He just hoped that that weird black blob thing was not a poison of some kind.

In the meantime, Haku and Loki were in a rut. More precisely, they were in a shadow-clone-rimmed pothole. Haku knew about this Jutsu, but analyzing it and avoiding kunai at the same time was proving to be rather difficult even for a quick thinker like him. Loki was on to something, because on several occasions she'd tried to point out what apparently were the _real _Hunters in this whole mess of dark, uniform-clad bodies, but it was almost impossible to land a precise hit through the avalanche of clones. What to do, what to _do_? Haku was nearly not strong enough to create an equal counter-army of water clones, and the Mirror Technique was only good against a small group of opponents.

Haku crouched, and jumped. Lightning-fast, he dodged a whole array of random metal weapons of all sorts, and landed in a snow-bank. This was not going anywhere. The Hunters didn't seem to be putting very much effort or deadly force into it, but then again, they didn't really need to. Why show all of the aces they had up their sleeves when they could simply wear out their prey with great numbers and simple tricks? It was proving to be successful so far. Haku was already growing tired.

The boy was finally able to leap out onto a pine branch, and throw a flurry of senbon into the general direction of Zabuza's enemies. He seemed to hit a target, as one of the Hunters folded up with a short yelp. There went one of them… one out of what looked like an endless army due to all of the clones and other reproducing Jutsu techniques. There was _one _good thing about this situation, though. With so many opponents against only three of them, Haku thought, things were starting to get a little bit mixed up. Even now, from the height of his tree branch, he could see some of the clones beginning to fight themselves. That was the problem with pitting a horde of witless body replications against a single target – they would eventually get confused about what they're supposed to be fighting. It was strange that the clever Hunters couldn't notice such a glaring loophole in their plan. In any case, it was only working for the renegades' advantage.

Smirking nastily at this unexpected discovery, Haku was just about to join Zabuza in combat, when he suddenly heard a frustrated shriek from down below. He glanced down to see Loki struggling with some kind of a living mud puddle. She was making what seemed like wild warning gestures to her team-mate, and trying to jump, but strange mud clung to her limbs like a determined pit-bull. She tried to scream something, but the mud clamped over her face like a slimy, ghoulish hand, and the words came out as muffled and incomprehensible noises. Haku frowned. An unfamiliar Jutsu meant a new danger! He had to act fast…

Without a further thought, he dived like a hawk towards the spot where his partner was struggling.

…Somebody watched the boy diving like a hawk towards the spot where the girl was struggling with the Sentient Swamp Jutsu, and then the binoculars were taken away. The scene immediately took on the look of a swarming ant hill somewhere far, far below. Gods, these trees were _tall_.

"Here, now let _me_ see," said a slightly capricious-sounding female voice. "I want to witness our moment of triumph. Hah, the Track-Mark-and-Make-Return Jutsu proved to be a success! It also got a bit of his DNA on it now, so when he dies we shall know right away. Hah! I shall have to remember to get a patent on it."

"I still don't think it's such a good idea to go testing out new inventions on such an important mission," muttered the previous binocular-holder. "What if it didn't work?"

"My inventions always work. And it's good to attack the oh-so-clever renegades with something they know nothing about and, therefore, don't expect. But that's all right. I forgive you for being _jealous._"

"I think we should hurry up with that next step," said a third voice rather impatiently. "Wait a little bit longer, and they'll figure everything out… or worse, make a run for it."

"Not to worry, Izu… Have patience. We must wait for all of ours to get out of that place," the female voice cut him off.

"We are all here, except for Aki and the new kid," supplied the third speaker. "They have been taken down, unfortunately. But other than that, I believe that we are ready to proceed."

"Excellent," hissed the female voice. "Now, pass me the… oh, here… ah."

From far above, the Hunters watched as a small scroll was tossed into the struggling heap of predominantly clone bodies below. The scroll fell, tumbling, into the snow, unnoticed by anyone on the ground. This was probably the best time to scram, because at any second the scroll was going to explode.

…In the meantime, Zabuza was fighting off his attackers, one by one. It was strange, really. The very first one had seemed to be the most of a challenge, but then… it was all just clones. Expertly executed, he had to admit, the most perfect clones he had possibly seen throughout his entire shinobi career, but still… just clones. With no sign of their actual performers. This was all very suspicious…

And Haku was trying his best to help Loki out of the clinging mud, but it was no good. It was becoming creature-shaped now, with long, sludgy claws and fangs. They were snapping at the boy as well now, but he stayed alert and kept the strange Jutsu at bay. Haku was so preoccupied with freeing Loki that he'd almost missed the fact that there were no more clones trying to attack them, and that he found weird, but…

One of the muddy jaws opened wide and bit Loki hard on the ankle. It was much more painful than the girl had expected, so she just couldn't help but emit a loud howl, a savage animal cry so full of pain and desperate plea for help…

…Somewhere not very far off, Grrr!wrth raised his head. Something stirred in his mind, something almost forgotten, pushed so far back by animal instincts and veiled by mists of time… He shook himself. He had a pack to take care of. A careful voice inside his head told him that if they didn't get out of the dangerous area _right now, _some terrible shit would happen to the others. No, really, some very, _very _terrible shit was about to happen. The leader turned towards his subordinates, his muscles tensing, ready at any moment to dash even further into the safety of the darkness ahead.

But something made him stop.

It wasn't just _any_ creature that had cried out for help. It was one of _them_.

But that wasn't all. There was… something _else. _A slight disturbance of the atmosphere…

No. He couldn't risk it. The… this group was his _all. _What kind of a leader was he if he didn't bring them to safety? And he knew _damn well _that nobody could protect them better from all the dangerous shit than him. That's why he _was _their leader after all. Because no-one in the entire forest could match him in strength and intelligence. They _had _to go, they had to go _now, _and he knew it_._ But Grrr!wrth still hesitated. The strange, half-forgotten feeling inside was making him stay.

The group was his present, and _they _were the past.

There came another terrible howl. Some of the wolves whined slightly from among the trees, but they weren't dashing for cover because their leader wasn't. Grrr!wrth _really _hated himself for this. He was betraying them, he knew. But he had no choice.

It was _his own blood _calling for him in desperation.

He suddenly knew what to do. Bracing himself, Grrr!wrth barked a couple of times, calling into the gloom again; then, with a sinking heart, he dived into what, from a certain angle, looked exactly like a snow bank.

…Back on the clone-littered battlefield, Loki and Haku had finally managed to take control of the Sentient Swamp Jutsu, although not without some difficulty. Loki was sitting on top of what looked like a fat, slimy neck, while Haku frantically tried to free one of her legs from the creature's oily jaws with some kind of a Jutsu. In the meantime, the girl was slashing in half any wandering clones that happened to approach them too close.

Zabuza fought off the last of his conjured opponents, and hopped over to where his students were struggling. A couple of clones started towards him drowsily, but he finished them with just one swipe of his Cleaver. Then Momochi focused once more, and a powerful wave of chakra sent Loki flying into a large puddle of sludge, Haku falling beside her in exhaustion.

Zabuza looked them over anxiously. He believed he could see where the Hunter Nin have been going with this. The kids were in a _bad_ shape, and, he had to admit, he himself felt little better. There couldn't have been a more perfect time for the last, all-decisive strike.

"Get up and brace yourselves," he said. "The worst is yet to come, I assure you."

"Z-Zabuza-s-san?"

Momochi looked down. Haku had already risen to stand beside him in an alert position, but Loki had not shifted from her awkward position on the ground. She was staring up at him, wide eyed, with a strange expression on her face.

"Didn't you hear me? I said get _up_- hey, what's wrong?"

But Loki wasn't looking at him anymore. She was staring off into the distance and mumbling something under her breath. In the strange, suddenly fallen stillness, he could just make out what sounded like "I… I f-found… I th-think I f-found… I can't believe…"

And then, several things happened at once.

There was a buzz, and a sudden prickling in the atmosphere that sent blue sparks down the backs and through the hair of the three unfortunate assassins.

Then there was a silent, all-consuming flash of blinding white light, and the little forest clearing suddenly detonated in a hurricane of fire, snow, up-rooted trees and miscellaneous flaming debris.

But moments before that Zabuza felt the ground break open under his feet and several sets of jaws closed around his ankles, dragging him downinto what seemed like unfathomable depths. In the second that followed, the backlash of the merciless explosion finally caught up, knocking the assassin into oblivion.

* * *

A couple of hours later, several black-clad figures hopped down into the smoking crater that had once been a peaceful, secluded grove sheltering a modest, undistinguished inn. There was no inn here now.

There weren't any survivors, either.

The leader of the Hunter Nin squad looked around in a self-satisfied fashion. They did a _fine_ job, indeed. The Recruiter will be pleased. Of course, the trails would have to be cleaned far better if they wanted extras; but a few simple Illusion Jutsu would do the trick for now.

Overall, however, their mission was accomplished, the leader thought with a smug smile. It turned out not to be so difficult after all.

A black blob was taken out of the velvety insides of the dark outfit. It withered and turned grey as the leader held it up theatrically on an open palm for everybody's examination. Then, with another self-satisfied smirk from the part of its holder, the blob was stuffed back into the depths of the Hunter's uniform.

"Our business is done here," the leader turned back towards the rest of the team-members, who were waiting silently. And so it was. The black blob's transfiguration was the undeniable proof.

The almighty Demon of the Mist was no longer.

* * *

The almighty Demon of the Mist groaned and opened his eyes. It _had _been a powerful explosion; and it was difficult for him to get his act together after a backlash hit like that despite the fact that he _was_ a powerful Jounin. His head felt as though it had been tap-danced on by a herd of elephants, and something sharpstill seemed to be clinging to his foot. Somewhere at the back of his mind, Zabuza was just hoping that nobody important was around to see him in his current state and _spread rumours_. Rumours would _not _do any favours to his rating in the Little Black Book… _Shit_, his head hurt.

Around him, there was just darkness and silence. Zabuza lay where he was for a while, his every sense straining to detect even the slightest signs of anything around that might want him dead; but there were none. He was lying on a cold, rocky, somewhat damp surface completely alone.

Oh wait, he was _not_ alone. Haku lay curled up not too far off, apparently unconscious. But something else was definitely missing. Zabuza looked around this way and that.

"Oh, _crap_," he groaned under his breath.

Momochi's Cleaver was nowhere to be seen. That was most infuriating, because it meant that Zabuza would _have _to go back and look for it, wherever 'back' was. Hell, he didn't even know where they were at the moment…

Or where, for that matter, was Loki.

* * *

Somewhere deep in the forest, Loki awoke to a whole lot of… well, white. She was lying in white, white was covering her belly and limbs, and it was falling down on her face in soft, chilly flakes. At least, that was what she saw. Yet strangely enough, she wasn't feeling any cold in her body.

_That is because my friends are keeping you warm, _said a rough, but not unpleasant to Loki's ears, male voice.

At the sound of it she stirred, and realized that her arms, legs and sides were being squeezed by something warm and furry that growled warningly at her attempts to wriggle free. The snow bank shifted as several wolf muzzles poked out from underneath it, and several pairs of yellow eyes stared accusingly into Loki's. She grinned back nervously, and looked beyond, at a large, hunched dark figure sitting by itself in front of a small bonfire. The stranger didn't say another word to her as she finally managed to get out of the mildly resisting wolf-blanket and approached to take a closer look. But even without having to see him, the girl already knew _exactly _who he was. Or, rather, _what_.

Loki came to a stop on the opposite end of the bonfire, so that she could face the mysterious stranger. Upon closer examination she noticed that his face was wide and hairy, and he had an overall appearance of what humans would consider a regular thug who was probably more used to proving his worth through physical prowess rather than wit. However, his beady dark eyes gleamed with intelligence and cunning.

'_Um, er. You are- '_she started. How _did _you start conversations like this one?

'_I am called Grrr!wrth, '_ said Grrr!wrth. _'And I believe you have already met my pack.'_

Loki remained silent. She was still a little bit dazed from the explosion, and it wasn't doing anything to help her brain in processing all the new information that was cascading onto it in big streams of shocking revelation.

'_So you are a-'_she repeated dumbly. The corners of Grrr!wrth's lips twitched slightly. It looked almost like a compassionate smile.

'_Yes,' _Grrr!wrth repeated patiently. '_After all, I _am _speaking to you in lupine, am I not? That is quite all right. It must be very sudden and confusing for you, I understand. It was a long time since I have seen those of my kind as well. I too could not believe this at first, but here you are. Have no worries, I will explain everything later. But first things first: you must be hungry. Take a seat, and do help yourself. I believe I still haven't forgotten how to make these.'_

And with these words, the male werewolf held up several moderately burned pieces of meat on a stick. But Loki didn't budge.

'_Where are Haku and Zabuza-san?"_ she asked. First things first.

'_Who?' _For a moment, Grrr!wrth seemed a little confused, but then realization dawned in his stern, but not wicked eyes. In canines, he knew, some habits died hard. One of those was Loyalty to Your Master. _'Oh, you mean the human cub and the other… part-wolf. Ah yes. I left them behind. I do not think they would have liked to come along. They are not like us. Our ways would not have suited them. Do have some meat. '_

Now it was Loki's turn to look perplexed.

'_Another part wolf?'_ she asked. _'What part wolf? There was just me, Haku, Zabuza and the rab_- _Wait a second. Are you meaning to tell me… '_

'_That's right.'_

'…_that the _rabbit_ is actually part _wolf_? But this is ridiculous! I… guess. Um. I mean, think about it. Unless it was… Say, this is interesting… what _would_ happen to a rabbit if it got the Bite? Supposing, of course, it somehow survived a werewolf attack without, ahaha, being swallowed alive or ripped to shr-'_

'_No, no, no, that is _not _what I meant! Silly cub. I meant the huge male with the sharp teeth! Haven't you _noticed?_ Oh, what _else_ could I expect of a child who's lived with humans for most of her conscious life…'_

'_What? I mean, WHAT?'_ Loki gave a start. _'Are you implying that living with humans has made me a _lesser werewolf?_'_

'_Girl, you catch on quick,'_ smirked Grrr!wrth, with just a hint of irony.

'_And what was that bit about Zabuza being part wolf? It can't be _true… _I mean, how do you _know?_'_

'_Ah, that's what I was talking about. You lived with him all this time, and didn't even notice all the tell-tale signs… You are a _werewolf. _The advantage of being one, is that you can take one look at the person you're having a conversation with, and know all about them. Like… you. I don't even need to take a good whiff of your scent to know that you've spent most of your life in a big metal box… I mean, look at you. Oh, don't glare at me like that. Just have some meat and sit down, I will explain…'_

Open-mouthed, Loki obeyed and sat cross-legged close to the bonfire, nibbling at the half-raw bits of mysterious origin. The wolf-man had her half mesmerized. And what he had to say even more so…

Grrr!wrth explained that Zabuza was definitely _not_ pure human. He figured it out after only just picking up and quickly analyzing a faint scent of the man. The ninja renegade was not a pure _werewolf_ as such, of course, and not even a half-blood, but… something about him hinted rather heavily at lupine descent. Perhaps a distant ancestor, sometime long, long ago, happened to stumble upon this world, which is not natural werewolf habitat, mind you. It was by accident, of course, just like it had happened to Grrr!wrth, decades ago. Andnow, to Loki. Only whereas Grrr!wrth, unable to find a way back or a different pack of those like him, opted for what was in his opinion the next best thing – the company of wolves; that mysterious ancestor – the one who had contributed wolf blood to Zabuza's lineage – must have chosen, for reasons that will never be known, to hobnob with humans. Of course, since werewolves aren't native to—er, to _this _land, wherever it happens to be, the line of descendants that followed became infused with more and more human genetics. The further it went, the human-er it got, ahaha. It remains unclear whether the immediate offspring of the werewolf had to use a doggy-door a couple of nights every month, or how the werewolf's human wife (or could it have been a husband?) reacted to the fact that the newborns in their family were slightly hairier than is expected of normal babies. But as generations after generations followed, wolf heritage got diluted with human blood so much that what you eventually got was someone like Zabuza: for the most part human, not Switching at full moon or cringing at the feel of silver, but with just a _hint _of something wolfish about him. Like sharper teeth and sense of smell. Or a savage glare. Or a tendency to growl when angry, eat undercooked meat and live in a forest all alone.

But in the end, when it boiled down to the basics, Zabuza was just that, a human with pointy teeth. Whereas he, Grrr!wrth, was a _true _werewolf. And Loki, despite her unfortunate up-bringing, was a true werewolf as well. _And _a female. A bit young, maybe, but that was all right, he could wait a few years. Slowly but surely, Grrr!wrth was moving on from the bit about Zabuza' heritage and to the bit about _why, _after the rescue,he'd left behind everybody but the girl.

Which made Loki feel quite uncomfortable.

'_Speaking about the rescue, how _did_ you manage it?'_ she asked, anxious to steer the conversation away from the awkward path it was beginning to take.

'_What? Oh, that…'_ said the wolf-man, blinking as the blissful visions of a future werewolf family slowly dissolved and he was thrust back into reality. _'Yes, _that… _It was most curious…'_

And Grrr!wrth began another lengthy but no less interesting speech. He talked about something he called The Tunnel in Space. According to the wolf-man, it was that mysterious Tunnel that made the rescue possible. As for _what_ it was… Well, he didn't know for sure, but it was definitely one of the most peculiar things about local forests. For weeks the running would be smooth. But every once in a while, the surrounding air would fill with electricity and a strange blueish haze would veil the area; and Grrr!wrth's pack would then experience the phenomenon of 'The Tunnel'.

It was indeed very much like a tunnel, even if only in concept. What it really was, and here Grrr!wrth had some trouble with the explanation, was like some sort of a pathway between one place and another much further away, only with the _space between them compressed somehow_; so that you covered the same large distance you'd usually spend days crossing in a matter of mere seconds. It was like a shortcut, of sorts. Only… weird. Grrr!wrth was not much by way of the sciences, but even he felt that the physics here were all messed up. And when a Tunnel opened up, it looked like… well, if the surrounding environment were fabric, then the Tunnel was the tear in the cloth, complete with the ragged edges and loose threads sticking out. This Tunnel was, somehow, a tear in _space_ itself, if only that. It happened at random, and there was no telling where it would lead; but he'd learned that it could come in very handy in getting the pack away in extreme situations. The wolf-man didn't know how safe (or unsafe) using it was, or what caused it to happen, or how it worked. It helped if you didn't think about it much once you were inside. But it _did_, as he'd once noticed, help a bit if you thought about your _destination._

Grrr!wrth also had a theory about the Tunnel. To Loki, it seemed a little far-fetched at first, because his explanation involved the world, or, er, as he put it, the world where they, namely him and Loki, were currently located. Which was _not _the same world as the one into which they'd been born. Grrr!wrth believed that it was a Tunnel, only a very big and potent one, that had brought them from _their _world into _this _universe.

'_What? No way, I am sure you're misunderstanding something,' _Loki interrupted. _'A different _forest _or _land _even I can buy, but a different universe altogether? I wouldn't know about that…'_

'_You wouldn't know about many things, you silly cub. But I've lived here for over a century, and I've had time to get around and _observe _things, believe you me. I mean, for one thing, isn't it odd how nobody here seems to know what a _werewolf _is?'_

Loki was quiet. She did find it strange that Zabuza and Haku have never heard of werewolves before.

'_But… maybe we're just in a different land, where there are simply no werewolves, you know, like my Chief back at the Centre, one day he'd shown me images of those weird green birds that we did not get in _our _country because it was too cold, and…'_ her voice trailed off. The sudden memory of the Chief was not at all pleasant, and perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to mention it in front of Grrr!wrth. But he hadn't seemed to notice.

'_Oh trust me,' _he continued, in a conspiratorial hiss. '_This _is_ a different land. It doesn't matter where you go. _Every _land here is a different land. Weren't you there when I've explained to you about your friend Zabuza's family tree? I thought I'd made it clear. There are _no _other werewolves here in these woods. Or _anywhere_ here, for that matter. At least, there weren't originally, and there aren't supposed to be_ _any now. The fact that you and I are here is a bizarre accident that shouldn't have happened, but somehow it did. We don't belong here. Look, I don't know how it happens, but there are these Tunnels in space, and every once in a while one big enough crops up that has the power to take someone as big as a werewolf from _our _world into _this _one, and there's no way to get back unless you find a big enough Tunnel, which is close to impossible because they are random and the chances of stumbling across the right one are slim to none!'_ Here, Grrr!wrth had to stop and catch his breath.

'_And even if you _do _see one that is the right size, you don't _know_ for sure if it will take you back where you came from,' _he continued, a bit more calmly.

'_But I thought you said that if you think about the desired _destination, _it dumps you off where you want?'_ Loki interjected.

'_I'm not sure if it works that way with the Big Tunnels. I mean, they're… big. So they must be extremely powerful, and not so easily influenced. Never got a chance to try, though. But even if I did, don't know if I would, to be honest. That's the thing about them Tunnels. You may wish, but in reality you never know where you might end up. And I'm… well, I'm all settled down here, nice and quiet. And now, there's you…'_

'_Oh. Um. Well, I _was _planning on finding my pack, you know. You were right, I _did _live with humans ever since I was little, but I got away and now I'm looking for my family,'_ explained Loki, noticing that the conversation was once again returning into uncomfortable grounds. _'You know, like parents an' all. I was hoping that they were somewhere around, so…'_

'_Somewhere around!'_ Grrr!wrth roared with laughter, suddenly and unpleasantly. _'Somewhere around, oh, ahahaha, you silly wolf child, somewhere around, she says, haha...'_ His rather large belly shook as he wiped a tear out of his eye. _'Somewhere around…'_

'_Look, I _got _it about the magical Tunnels and different universes and stuff,' _said Loki, a bit less patiently. _'So now I want to know how to get back. This Big Tunnel… if I see it, how do I tell it apart from a regular shortcut one?'_

Grrr!wrth stopped laughing abruptly, and his expression turned serious.

'_Well, first of all, it is bigger. Wider. More blue sparks,' _he added as an afterthought._ 'But you aren't planning on leaving, are you.' _The last phrase was not a question, but rather a statement. _'You're going to stay here, with me. I'm a werewolf, and you're a werewolf. What more do we need? We'll start our own pack.'_

Loki pondered about it for a minute. Start a pack with this guy? True, he _was _the first other real werewolf she had encountered ever since she was little, but… She hadn't imagined the first meeting with a kinsman to go like _that._ She did still want to find her family, but starting a pack of her _own_ just like that was not on her agenda, at least not yet. As for Grrr!wrth himself, he was so… so…

She took another look at him. He was sitting across from her, big, wide, with a huge belly and lots of hair, and overall not very appealing to a girl of near fifteen. Loki had never before given much thought to the prospect of finding an actual mate to _have children with_… but even so, here and now, she was absolutely sure that, given a choice, Grrr!wrth was the one she would _not _pick.

Even if he was the only werewolf left on the face of the planet. Which, given everything he'd just said was true, happened to be just the case.

Or perhaps not? If _he'd _made it into this world from theirs, and _she _had, and Zabuza's mysterious ancestor had…

Wait a second. Zabuza! If Grrr!wrth was correct, then he was part werewolf too… Not that Loki had been thinking as far into the future as planning any 'meet the parents' type events, but it was definitely an option worth considering, and Zabuza was a much more attractive candidate than Grrr!wrth…

And… oh, how couldshe forget! She'd made a promise to Zabuza and Haku. But now it wasn't so much about the promise, even though a small part of her brain still insisted that she Must Obey the Master. But what it _really _was all about… well, Haku and Zabuza had become like family to her, of sorts, even the rabbit. And abandoning them for this wolf-man was not an option she had in mind. And Loki realized that 'can't we all just live together?' would not be an argument that would convince Grrr!wrth. That was not how things worked in the werewolf society. And even if they did, there would definitely be misunderstandings about the rabbit.

That decided it. Loki got up and shook the snow off her behind.

"I am very grateful for the fact that you rescued us, and the meal you cooked was simply delicious," she started politely, but nonetheless a bit pointedly switching to human-tongue. "But I believe that it is time for me to part. I would love to stay with you, but I'm afraid that all those years of living around humans have made me a bit too human for your liking. So, er. I am off, then. Thank you again!"

She strolled past the sitting Grrr!wrth, facing him all the time, and began backing away towards the forest, with lots of bowing, 'thank you's, nervous grins and general politeness. There was a soft growl behind her as her behind bumped into something soft. The wolves were forming a tight semicircle around her, assembling into a furry, rumbling wall with glowing yellow eyes. They weren't exactly threatening, but something about their look suggested that leaving was a _bad _idea.

Grrr!wrth got up and turned towards Loki. Shadows were flickering on his face, half-illuminated by firelight.

'_Look, I do not wish to harm you in any way,' _he said softly, in the kind of tone that suggested he just might. _'And, mind you, I do not want to start off on the wrong foot, but I've been alone for so long, and so will you if you don't _listen _to me.' _With these words, he slowly began approaching the cornered girl. _'Of course, I can let you go your own merry way, but then you will regret it in the long run. You are but a little cub, after all… You have no idea what it is like, wandering around all on your own, not having a soul around that understands what you are going through, no one to talk to you, no one to show compassion… Please understand, child, this is all for your own good…'_

His shadow was already looming over the girl. Of course, she could fight, but something told her that, despite all of her training, he was stronger and faster and _really _good at chasing prey…

There was a swish in the air. Loki heard it. But Grrr!wrth, too preoccupied with convincing her to join him, was not paying attention. He _was_ a werewolf, but, in the end, there _was _a difference between someone who was trained for combat and someone who wasn't…

It was rather a pity, because he hadn't braced himself in time. There was a familiar hail of ice needles, a few faint grunts…

When Loki uncurled herself from the ground and released the tension in her muscles, she saw a big body lying in the snow, needles sticking out of it like spikes out of a porcupine's back. It was Grrr!wrth. Yes, combat training from an early age made all the difference.

Loki turned around. The snow behind her was littered with bodies that looked like big, wolf-shaped hedgehogs who had collectively decided to take a nap. With a slight shudder, she looked up. There, standing on a branch high up in the tree, was Haku.

"_There _you are," said a deep voice that did _not_ belong to the young ninja. "Ah, doesn't it feel so nice and cozy when we're all reunited like that. Been looking _everywhere _for you. Barely found you, and only to discover that you are _fraternizing with the enemy."_

Seemingly out of nowhere, Momochi Zabuza stepped out into the firelight.

"I ain't fraternizin' with no enemy," Loki said sulkily. "I was just planning on leaving, but he tried to overtake me. It's a good thing Haku hasn't killed him, though, because then I'd have to tear him to bits for destroying my kinsman. It's a werewolf thing. Us werewolves, we're all about principles, you know."

But Zabuza was grinning.

"Principles, huh," he said, strolling around Grrr!wrth's huge bulk. "Kinsmen, huh. So, I gather, he is also a… whatchamacallem… _were_wolf? How very interesting. People that turn into wolves. Never encountered _that _type before." He crouched and gave the body a slight prod with the tip of his finger, then looked up at Loki.

"Oh, I _know _you're all about principles, girl," he said, answering the silent question in her eyes. "Oh, I _know _you are loyal. That's why you are still alive and by my side. By thunder, I am not a boasting man, but I would be nowhere now if I was a bad judge of people."

"Just don't kill _him_," Loki said, becoming unpleasantly aware of the pleading notes in her tone.

"And why should I not? He just tried to entice one of my most useful tools away, and I wouldn't say that he was entirely unconvincing, _was he now_?" Zabuza's voice was as sugary as treacle tinted with venom. That girl… He had _never_ had such trouble with Haku. And Loki seemed to be all about trouble.

Not at all unlike him, therefore. The thought made Momochi smirk.

"I really hate to interrupt, Zabuza-san, but the needles won't hold him down for long," called Haku from above. Indeed, on the ground, Grrr!wrth was beginning to stir.

But Zabuza did not seem to be in much hurry.

"So, should I finish him off while he's down, or not?" he mused aloud. "Oh, but killing him will make me an enemy out of _you_, won't it, girl? Oh, don't you give _me _that glare!" he snapped, catching Loki's eye. "Just get up into those trees before he fully wakes up and we _really _have a problem on our hands, or else I _will _need to kill him, and don't think your basilisk glares are going to stop me then! So off with you!"

Loki knew that expression of finality on Zabuza's face far too well to argue, and complied. Momochi followed shortly afterwards. He _could _have killed that, for want of a better word, _man_. But then he would be a bad psychologist, and he did not get to be infamous by being a bad psychologist. Loki _was _a useful tool, and you didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out her reaction to the extermination of her, erm, species by his hand. And Zabuza had far too many enemies already, and far too few allies. Pitting an unusual and, all right, rather powerful student against himself was not a part of the assassin's grand scheme.

Just before disappearing into the creaking and rustling heights of snow-covered pine trees, the man turned around and with a faint murmur of "gonna trace our scent, huh," flung something back into the white snow bank far below, where the wolf-man was just struggling to get up. The small blob exploded in a pink-and-green cloud, but left the werewolf unscarred.

It did, however leave him dazed and confused. Scent bombs do smell rather a _lot_.

* * *

A few hours later, as the last traces of the overbearing scent died away, Grrr!wrth took a break from throwing up and tried to make some sense out of what had just happened. One moment, he was trying to convince a quite attractive, if even a tad bit too young, werewolf female to join his pack, and next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground and being sick because something incredibly smelly had exploded under his nose. And the female was gone without a trace.

The first explanation that sprang to Grrr!wrth's mind was that she'd disappeared via a Tunnel. But that couldn't be right… He hadn't detected any of the usual signs that appeared before a Tunnel opened up. There was a definite lack of blue sparks, for one thing.

Whatever the case, he thought, gradually sliding back into his wolf form, the Tunnels had been cropping up much too often over the recent years. Whatever that could mean…

**End Chapter… **Yes, I know I've been away for eternity. What with one thing happening in my life and another, I've almost forgotten that I even started to write this story… But recently, _something _made me remember about it, and, more, want to finish it off. :) I don't know what that sudden urge was. Perhaps it was the man-eating vines? Or maybe I just miss the attention… And yes, I know it was very Loki-oriented again, it will stop being that way soon. :) Just a few more knots and tangles to sort out, and it'll be Zabuza and Haku fan-service all the way from there.:)


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